haughty

adjective

haugh·​ty ˈhȯ-tē 

ˈhä-

haughtier; haughtiest

: blatantly and disdainfully proud : having or showing an attitude of superiority and contempt for people or things perceived to be inferior

haughty aristocrats

haughty young beauty … never deigned to notice us

—Herman Melville

haughtily

ˈhȯ-tə-lē 

ˈhä-

adverb

haughtiness

ˈhȯ-tē-nəs 

ˈhä-

noun

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The Connotations of Haughty

Someone who is haughty looks down on others—and that position high above everyone else is present in the word's etymology. Haughty traces back to the Anglo-French halt or haut, which means literally "high."

The word has strong negative connotations. Someone who is described as "haughty" is proud in the worst way. This is not the pride a parent feels for a child who's worked hard at something, and it's not the pride a marathoner feels for completing a race. The word haughty communicates a kind of pride that is obviously full of contempt for others deemed inferior or unworthy.

The word is not applied only to people. Haughty often modifies nouns like glare, look, appearance, and attitude.

Synonyms

• arrogant
• assumptive
• bumptious
• cavalier
• chesty
• high-and-mighty
• high-handed
• high-hat
• highfalutin
• hifalutin
• huffish
• huffy
• imperious
• important
• lofty
• lordly
• masterful
• overweening
• peremptory
• pompous
• presuming
• presumptuous
• pretentious
• self-asserting
• self-assertive
• sniffy
• stiff-necked
• supercilious
• superior
• toplofty
• toploftical
• uppish
• uppity

Choose the Right Synonym for haughty

proud, arrogant, haughty, lordly, insolent, overbearing, supercilious, disdainful mean showing scorn for inferiors.

proud may suggest an assumed superiority or loftiness.

too proud to take charity

arrogant implies a claiming for oneself of more consideration or importance than is warranted.

a conceited and arrogant executive

haughty suggests a consciousness of superior birth or position.

a haughty aristocrat

lordly implies pomposity or an arrogant display of power.

a lordly condescension

insolent implies contemptuous haughtiness.

ignored by an insolent waiter

overbearing suggests a tyrannical manner or an intolerable insolence.

an overbearing supervisor

supercilious implies a cool, patronizing haughtiness.

an aloof and supercilious manner

disdainful suggests a more active and openly scornful superciliousness.

disdainful of their social inferiors

Examples of haughty in a Sentence

He rejected their offer with a tone of haughty disdain.

the haughty waiter smirked when I remarked that it was odd that a French restaurant didn't even have french fries on the menu

Recent Examples on the Web

The expansive story of a Hungarian architect and his haughty patron required Corbet and team to shoot in the marble quarries of northern Tuscany — where rockslides constantly shift the landscape. —Matt Donnelly, Variety, 19 Dec. 2024

Rory Kinnear is the closest thing the film has to a protagonist as Henry Hunt, a haughty activist with poor social skills. —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 9 Dec. 2024

But Rosie is no imperial-phase victory lap from a haughty A-lister. —Maura Johnston, Rolling Stone, 6 Dec. 2024

Daniel Brühl is transformative as the haughty, brilliant and self-loathing Lagerfeld. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

obsolete haught, from Middle English haute, from Anglo-French halt, haut, literally, high, from Latin altus — more at old

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

haughty

adjective

haugh·​ty ˈhȯt-ē 

ˈhät-

haughtier; haughtiest

: rudely proud in a manner that expresses scorn for others : arrogant

haughtily

ˈhȯt-ə-lē 

ˈhät-

adverb

haughtiness

ˈhȯt-ē-nəs 

ˈhät-

noun