highfalutin en · ADJ
Pronunciation
Etymology
Possible an alteration of high-fluting. Another speculation connects the term with high-flighting/-flying. First appears c. 1839 in the Spirit of the Times.
Meanings
-
(US, informal) Self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical.
When it comes down to it and it's time to get it on / Ain't no way to do it / If you find yourself alone / 'Cause all your highfalutin / Ain't worth nothin' when you're old / When it comes down to it / Love will get you more than gold
1975, “When It Comes Down to It”, in Adventures in Paradise, performed by Minnie Riperton:That one Cajun that moved to Austin is too highfalutin to come back to Livingston Parish. He's over there with that mean bread lady!
There’s been a spate of stories lately about how Cruz’s rhetoric is more hifalutin than everybody else’s. He uses lots of big words and dependent clauses.
2015 November 1, Hendrik Hertzberg, “That G.O.P. Debate: Two Footnotes”, in The New Yorker, archived from the original on 13 Feb 2016:It's only a matter of time before some highfalutin developer builds a huge hotel and ruins the scenery.
As a rhetorical maneuver, invoking common sense has the advantage of distancing oneself from a complicated, highfalutin legal analysis.
2026 May 29, Will Baude, Richard Re, “The Supreme Court’s common sense problem”, in SCOTUSblog, archived from the original on 06 Jun 2026:His speech was very highfalutin.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| high-falutin | alternative | lexicographic | |
| hifalutin | alternative | lexicographic | |
| most highfalutin | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| hifalutin' | alternative | lexicographic | |
| high faluting | alternative | lexicographic | |
| high-falutin' | alternative | lexicographic | |
| highfaluting | alternative | lexicographic | |
| highfalutin' | alternative | lexicographic | |
| high-faluting | alternative | lexicographic | |
| high falutin' | alternative | lexicographic | |
| high falutin | alternative | lexicographic | |
| hifaluting | alternative | lexicographic | |
| more highfalutin | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
Synonyms
pretentious · hoity-toity · bombast
Translations (27)
pl ą-ę ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · de arrogant ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · nl arrogant ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · de hochgestochen ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · nl hoogdravend ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · de hochfahrend ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · ru напы́щенный ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · hu dagályos ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · pt metido ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · de hochtrabend ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · de anmaßend ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · hu nagyhangú ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · sv pompös ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · es creído ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · nb pompøs ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · sh naduven ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · sh napuhan ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · de pompös ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · sh nadut ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · ro pompos ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · fi pöyhkeilevä ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · bg надут ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · bg превзет ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · es pomposo ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · sv högtravande ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · pl pretensjonalny ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical) · nb høyttravende ((informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical)