high-toned

American  

[hahy-tohnd] / ˈhaɪˈtoʊnd /

Or high-tone

adjective

1. having high principles; dignified.

2. having or aspiring to good taste, high standards, or refinement.

   He writes for a high-toned literary review.

3. affectedly stylish or genteel.

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high-toned British  

adjective

1. having a superior social, moral, or intellectual quality

2. affectedly superior

3. high in tone

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Etymology

Origin of high-toned

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

With its crisp acidity and bright fruit, this high-toned wine seemed more akin to Pinot Noir than to Malbec.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025

Blending syrah into the region’s signature malbec lends depth and body to malbec’s high-toned blueberry fruit and supple tannins.

From Washington Post • Apr. 27, 2023

It was a curious book, full of high-toned musings about “the Framers’ wisdom” and “the Madisonian-designed political apparatus.”

From New York Times • Feb. 27, 2023

The high-toned gig makes for a stark contrast with Spears’ ongoing legal battle over her controversial conservatorship, which Aguilera strongly condemned in a recent viral Twitter thread.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 15, 2021

Bushwick Avenue was the high-toned boulevard of old Brooklyn.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith