high-flown
Pretentiously elevated language
High-flown describes language or ideas that are extravagantly lofty or pretentious—reaching for grandeur but often landing on pomposity.
His high-flown rhetoric impressed no one who knew the facts.
The term suggests ambitions or expressions that exceed what the occasion warrants, like elaborate promises that won't be kept or speeches stuffed with abstract nouns.
Excessively inflated language
- pompousAffectedly grand in manner
- grandiloquentPretentiously elevated in speech
- magniloquentUsing pompous, elevated rhetoric
- overblownInflated beyond reasonable proportion
inflated · turgid · extravagant · theatrical · imposing · splendid · resplendent · stately
Of formal public speaking
- eloquentFluent and persuasive
- declamatoryPompously rhetorical in style
- speechifyingDelivering pompous addresses
- grandiloquentPretentiously elevated in speech
magniloquent · bombastic · sonorous · resonant · stentorian · rhetorical · oratory · speechmaking
Awe-inspiring greatness
- exaltedElevated in rank
- loftyImpressively high or noble
- nobleTitled or virtuous
- augustImpressively grand and noble
soaring · ethereal · transcendent · rarefied · idealistic · visionary · utopian · romantic
Excessively ornate or ruddy
- embellishedDecorated or exaggerated
- elaborateComplex and detailed
- baroqueExcessively ornate or elaborate
- rococoExcessively elaborate in style
flowery · decorative · adorned · overwrought · purple · fancy · flamboyant · filigreed
Artificially contrived behavior
- ostentatiousShowily excessive
- snobbishCondescending toward perceived inferiors
- vaingloriousBoastfully proud, ostentatiously so
- superciliousArrogantly contemptuous of others
haughty · conceited · arrogant · self-important · showy · boastful · lofty · hoity-toity
bombastic
Excessively inflated language
- pompousAffectedly grand in manner
- grandiloquentPretentiously elevated in speech
- magniloquentUsing pompous, elevated rhetoric
overblown · inflated · turgid · extravagant · theatrical · imposing · splendid · resplendent · stately · majestic
oratorical
Of formal public speaking
- eloquentFluent and persuasive
- declamatoryPompously rhetorical in style
- speechifyingDelivering pompous addresses
grandiloquent · magniloquent · bombastic · sonorous · resonant · stentorian · rhetorical · oratory · speechmaking · windy
sublime
Awe-inspiring greatness
august · soaring · ethereal · transcendent · rarefied · idealistic · visionary · utopian · romantic · abstract
florid
Excessively ornate or ruddy
- embellishedDecorated or exaggerated
- elaborateComplex and detailed
- baroqueExcessively ornate or elaborate
rococo · flowery · decorative · adorned · overwrought · purple · fancy · flamboyant · filigreed · gilded
affected
Artificially contrived behavior
- ostentatiousShowily excessive
- snobbishCondescending toward perceived inferiors
- vaingloriousBoastfully proud, ostentatiously so
supercilious · haughty · conceited · arrogant · self-important · showy · boastful · lofty · hoity-toity · highfalutin
- floweryornate, verbose, purple, embellished, overblown
high-flownplain
Basic and unremarkable
plainspoken · straightforward · simple · direct · unadorned
high-flownunpretentious
Lacking false superiority
unassuming · modest · unaffected · down-to-earth · natural
high, flight, higher, floating, highest, flown, overflow, heighten, flows