hauteur

[ hoh-tur; French oh-tœr ]

noun

1. haughty manner or spirit; arrogance.

hauteur

/ əʊˈtɜː /

noun

1. pride; haughtiness

Word History and Origins

Origin of hauteur¹

1620–30; < French, equivalent to haut high ( haughty ) + -eur -or ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of hauteur¹

C17: from French, from haut high; see haughty

Example Sentences

“Whatever nomenclature you prefer,” Elizabeth offers, accentuating her speech with oozing hauteur.

From Salon

The plot develops in this vaguely Faustian way, always with the threat of incipient catastrophe, and it allows Torres to get at something not often seen in these art-world movies — an entitled hauteur that also, somehow, contains an invitation for comradeship.

From Los Angeles Times

As a character, Miss Liza Jane combines the hauteur of opera diva Jessye Norman and the sermonizing wisdom of Maya Angelou.

From Los Angeles Times

His critics often observed that he might have come much closer to his stated goals had he not expressed and pursued them with such ferocity and impatience, or treated his critics with such hauteur.

From Los Angeles Times

The hauteur of his wife, Guenevere, and the egotism of her lover, Lancelot, were exposed and then exploded in torrents of rapturous balladry that swept away their faults.

From New York Times

Related Words

• condescension
• self-importance