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Webster 1913 Edition


High-flown

High′-flownˊ

,
Adj.
1.
Elevated; proud.
High-flown hopes.”
Denham.
2.
Turgid; extravagant; bombastic; inflated;
as,
high-flown
language
.
M. Arnold.

Webster 1828 Edition


High-flown

HIGH-FLOWN

,
Adj.
Elevated; swelled; proud; as high-flown hopes.
1.
Turgid; swelled; extravagant; as a high-flown hyperbole.

Definition 2024


high-flown

high-flown

English

Adjective

high-flown (comparative more high-flown, superlative most high-flown)

  1. pretentiously eloquent; highly figurative
    • Red River Settlement is, to use a high-flown expression, an oasis in the desert, and may be likened to a spot upon the moon or a solitary ship upon the ocean. In plain English, it is an isolated settlement on the borders of one of the vast prairies of North America.R.M. Ballantyne, "Hudson Bay", 1850
  2. lofty, extravagant, refined
    • It seems to me he makes troubles, by expecting every one else to be as quixotic as himself. He is not likely to find high-flown notions among ordinary business men!Mrs George de Horne Vaizey, "A Houseful of Girls", 1905

Synonyms