loftily

American  

[lawf-tuh-lee, lof-] / ˈlɔf tə li, ˈlɒf- /

adverb

1. high in the air; in an imposing or towering manner.

   The speaker raised his fist loftily skywards as he spoke, drawing forth cheers from the crowd.

   The palace stands loftily at an imposing 2,000 ft above sea level, with an unhindered birds-eye view of a 13th century fort.

2. in a way that is elevated in rank, style, tone, or sentiment.

   The editorial begins loftily with a quote from the Roman author Horace.

3. in an arrogant or condescendingly superior way.

   I'd be more impressed if the official commissioned a few economic reports, rather than loftily dismissing the arguments of his challengers as “nonsense.”

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Other Word Forms

• overloftily adverb

Etymology

Origin of loftily

lofty ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Mr. Kramer, whose company is based in Alabama, described his motives loftily, saying he had wanted to draw attention to the potential abuse of artificial intelligence in campaigns.

From New York Times • Feb. 27, 2024

Bye, bye, baby/ I’ll send for you/ Ain’t got much money right now/ I’ll come back a millionaire, he croons softly, loftily, at the end of “Hollywood.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2023

The president - a wealthy businessman and former liberation struggle icon, once backed by Nelson Mandela to succeed him - loftily declared that he was innocent.

From BBC • Dec. 2, 2022

When his popularity underwent the second-quickest plunge in French presidential history, one of his advisers, asked what mistakes the government had made, answered loftily: “We were probably too intelligent, too subtle.”

From Washington Post • Apr. 20, 2022

“Really,” Hermione said loftily as they passed the girls, now squabbling over the lipstick.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling