I. |hīfə|lüt ə n adjective
also high·fa·lu·ting “, -üd.]iŋ, -üt], ]ēŋ\ ; or hi·fa·lu·tin
Etymology: perhaps from high (I) + alteration of fluting, present participle of flute (II)
1. : characterized by or reflecting an attitude of self-importance or superciliousness : pretentious
highfalutin people like the kind of fine ladies his wife was always playing bridge with — Nathaniel La Mar
impress our correspondents by highfalutin letterheads — H.F.Ellis
2. : expressed in or marked by the use of high-flown bombastic language : pompous
has written perhaps half a dozen excellent pieces … and a great deal of highfalutin bathos — H.L.Mencken
a study of American adolescence done in a rather high-toned and highfalutin way — Time & Tide
pretentious idealism or just highfalutin and pretentious talk — William Chomsky
II. noun
( -s )
: high-flown pretentious language : bombast
a medium … in which dramatic characters can express the purest poetry without highfalutin — T.S.Eliot