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highfalutin

or high·fa·lu·tin', hi·fa·lu·tin, hi·fa·lu·tin'

[ hahy-fuh-loot-n ]

/ ˌhaɪ fəˈlut n /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR highfalutin ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective Informal.

pompous; bombastic; haughty; pretentious.

Also high·fa·lu·ting

[hahy-fuh-loo-ting, hahy-fuh-loot-n] /ˌhaɪ fəˈlu tɪŋ, ˌhaɪ fəˈlut n/.

Origin of highfalutin

1830–40; high + falutin (perhaps orig. flutin, variant of fluting, present participle of flute)

Words nearby highfalutin

higher still, higher-up, highest common factor, highest intercostal vein, highet, highfalutin, highflier, highflying, highhole, highjack, highjacker

Example sentences from the Web for highfalutin

Initially, we're meant to identify with Hart, who objects whenever Cohle's highfalutin Satre-isms get out of hand.

‘True Detective’ Review: You Have to Watch HBO’s Revolutionary Crime Classic |Andrew Romano |January 11, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
He hated anything that was highfalutin, and he had a BS detector—his phrase again—that was unmatched in the business.

Jack Germond, a Reporter From Another Time |Eleanor Clift |August 14, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
That phrase is maybe too highfalutin, but it's too famous to dispense with.

What Comes After the Tea Party? |David Frum |February 21, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Beyond Human Nature succeeds by delivering serious arguments that challenge the reader without seeming dense or highfalutin.

In Defense of Nurture: Jesse Prinz’s ‘Beyond Human Nature’ |Robert Herritt |November 23, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

Housed near the Uffizi Gallery, in one of the most culturally rich cities in the world, the museum has some highfalutin neighbors.

Night at the Gucci Museum |Robin Givhan |September 27, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
I felt a chill go over me—the whole business was tricky, stagy; of a piece with the highfalutin talk.

Plain Mary Smith |Henry Wallace Phillips
There was going to be no shilly-shallying, no highfalutin theorizings.

Gargoyles |Ben Hecht
"You're not going to cement it by a tariff or a highfalutin' proclamation," he answered.

Sonia Between two Worlds |Stephen McKenna
The first appears in a Senate debate of 1841; highfalutin in a political speech of the same decade.

The American Language |Henry L. Mencken
I couldn't stand for your highfalutin excuses for being—well, never mind—we all get our off days.

The Sturdy Oak |Samuel Merwin, et al.

British Dictionary definitions for highfalutin

highfalutin

hifalutin highfaluting

/ (ˌhaɪfəˈluːtɪn) /

adjective

informal pompous or pretentious

Word Origin for highfalutin

C19: from high + -falutin, perhaps variant of fluting, from flute