Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Scornfully and condescendingly proud. synonym: arrogant.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • High; elevated: same as haut, 1.
  • Lofty; bold; adventurous.
  • Proud and disdainful; feeling superior to others; lofty and arrogant in feeling or manner; supercilious.
  • Proceeding from excessive pride, or pride mingled with contempt; manifesting a sense of superiority: as, a haughty air or walk; a haughty tone.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Obs. or Archaic High; lofty; bold.
  • adjective Disdainfully or contemptuously proud; arrogant; overbearing.
  • adjective Indicating haughtiness.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Conveying in demeanour the assumption of superiority; disdainful, supercilious.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Middle English haut, from Old French haut, halt, alteration (influenced by Frankish hōh, high) of Latin altus, high; see al- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From earlier hauty, haultic, with spelling change in imitation of naughty and high, from Middle English hautein, hautain (with -ein, -ain becoming -y through the form hautenesse standing for *hauteinnesse; see haughtiness), from haute ("self-important"), from Old French haut, hault ("high, lofty"), from Frankish *hauh, hōh ("high, lofty, proud") and Latin altus ("high, deep"). More at high, old.

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Examples

  • Janet Bronaugh used the term haughty culturalist in a 2003 article for Phipps

    NYT > Home Page By BEN SCHOTT 2010

  • She was trying to keep her expression haughty, Chekov suspected, but the flush of girlish anger that leapt into her cheeks when Uhura drew alongside her betrayed more than he thought she realized.

    Firestorm L.A Graf 2000

  • And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.

    Poetry Friday 2006

  • And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.

    Archive 2006-05-01 2006

  • Cowboy boots and hats might be unusual in haughty Charlottesville or super-snobby Alexandria, but not so odd in many other parts of the state.

    Waldo Jaquith - Mike Shear on Allen’s cowboy schtick. 2006

  • He stood before the fire, his hands behind his back, his booted feet slightly apart, his expression haughty and cold, at variance with what he was saying — or perhaps not.

    Slightly Dangerous Balogh, Mary 2004

  • Tathagres sat up, her expression haughty beneath tangled hair.

    Stormwarden Wurts, Janny 1989

  • "The English mean to make slaves of us," they said, in haughty indignation, and soon a plot to murder all the British was formed.

    This Country of Ours: The Story of the United States Henrietta Elizabeth 1917

  • Then he marched tremendously back to the main door, his chin high, his expression haughty, his backbone rigid.

    The Gray Dawn Stewart Edward White 1909

  • "It is I, who am to be first obeyed," said he in haughty tones.

    Hauff's Fairy Tales, Translated and Adapted Cicely Hauff McDonnell 1903

Comments

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  • Just say it. see how you automatically behave in a haughty fashion as you do....

    February 20, 2009

  • adjective: having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy

    The haughty manager didn't believe that any of his subordinates could ever have an insight as brilliant as his own.

    October 19, 2016