Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Pretentiously elegant or refined: Used to describe something or someone that is ostentatiously or artificially high-class, stylish, or cultured, often with a negative connotation of snobbery or affectation.
   • Having or affecting high moral principles or ideals: An older or more formal meaning, suggesting noble or elevated sentiments, though this usage can sometimes also carry an ironic tone.

Usage

The word "high-toned" is primarily used as an adjective to describe a manner, style, or establishment that is perceived as being showily or artificially superior. It often implies criticism, suggesting the elegance is pretentious or not genuine. It can modify nouns like "restaurant," "party," "society," "manners," or "ideas."

Examples

• The critic dismissed the art gallery's opening as a high-toned affair more concerned with appearances than with art.
• She spoke in a high-toned accent that she had acquired abroad.
• His high-toned principles were not always matched by his actions. (This example can use the older meaning, potentially with irony).

Advanced Usage

• Used ironically or sarcastically: The word is frequently used to mock or criticize perceived snobbery.
  • Their high-toned discussion about vintage wines was just an attempt to impress everyone.

Variants and Related Words

• High-tonedness (noun): The quality of being high-toned.
  • The high-tonedness of the establishment made ordinary customers feel unwelcome.

Synonyms

• Pretentious
• Affected
• Snobbish
• Hoity-toity (informal)
• Grandiose

Antonyms

• Unpretentious
• Modest
• Down-to-earth
• Simple

Idioms and Phrases

• While "high-toned" itself is not typically part of a larger idiom, it is conceptually related to phrases describing snobbery, such as "putting on airs" or "being stuck-up."

Adjective

1. pretentiously elegant
   • a high-toned restaurant