Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

highfalutin

/ˌhaɪ.fəˈlu.tɪn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.74 in modern English

Syllables: high-fa-lutin
IPA: /ˌhaɪ.fəˈlu.tɪn/

21

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical.

American usage; Informal

noun

Pompous speech or writing.

Archaic; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"It's only a matter of time before some highfalutin developer builds a huge hotel and ruins the scenery."
"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!"
"His speech was very highfalutin."
"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"
"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."
"As a rhetorical maneuver, invoking common sense has the advantage of distancing oneself from a complicated, highfalutin legal analysis."

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.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌhaɪ.fəˈlu.tɪn/

Usage

Inflected Forms

more highfalutin (comparative) most highfalutin (superlative) hifalutin (alternative) hifalutin' (alternative) hifaluting (alternative) highfalutin' (alternative) highfaluting (alternative) high-falutin (alternative) high-falutin' (alternative) high-faluting (alternative) high falutin (alternative) high falutin' (alternative)

Derived Forms

highfalutinism highfalutination

Phrases

ooh la la high falution

Frequently Paired Words

fancy ooh la la

Synonyms

bombast hoity-toity pretentious grandiose hifalutin highfaluting la-di-da

Rhymes With

putin rasputin

Questions

How do you pronounce highfalutin?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌhaɪ.fəˈlu.tɪn/.
What does highfalutin mean?: Self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical.
Where does highfalutin come from?: 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.

How to pronounce highfalutin

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