highfaluting
Definition
- Adjective:
- Affectedly genteel; pretentious or pompous in speech, style, or manner: The word describes language, behavior, or attitudes that are intended to seem sophisticated, grand, or intellectual but are instead perceived as exaggerated, artificial, and often ridiculous.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- The critic dismissed the poet's work as nothing but highfaluting nonsense.
- He used such highfaluting language in the meeting that no one could understand his simple point.
- I prefer clear, direct instructions, not all this highfaluting jargon.
Advanced Usage
- The term is often used in a critical or dismissive way to call out unnecessary complexity or pretension. It implies that the speaker or writer is trying too hard to impress.
- It can describe not just language but also ideas, theories, or artistic works perceived as being pretentiously overblown.
- The film's highfaluting themes were lost on the general audience, who just wanted to be entertained.
Variants and Related Words
- Highfalutin (adj): An alternative, more common spelling with the same meaning.
- He's always making highfalutin claims about changing the world.
- Grandiose (adj): Impressive or magnificent in appearance or style, especially pretentiously so. This is a close synonym but can have a less colloquial tone.
- Bombastic (adj): High-sounding but with little meaning; inflated. This focuses more on the pompous style of language itself.
Synonyms
- Pretentious
- Pompous
- Grandiose
- Affected
- Bombastic
Idioms and Related Phrases
- Put on airs: To behave in a way that is intended to impress others by appearing more sophisticated or important than one is. This idiom describes a similar behavior that the adjective "highfaluting" would characterize.
- Ever since she got that promotion, she's been putting on airs with her highfaluting talk.
Adjective
-
affectedly genteel
Khám phá thêm
Các từ liên quan
Từ đồng nghĩa
Từ tương tự
