high-flown

English

Adjective

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

1. pretentiously eloquent; highly figurative
   • 1850, R.M. Ballantyne, Hudson Bay:

     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.

2. lofty, extravagant, refined
   • 1905, Mrs George de Horne Vaizey, A Houseful of Girls:

     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!

Synonyms

• (eloquent) bombastic
• (lofty) high-minded
• highfalutin

Translations

pretentiously eloquent; highly figurative

• Bulgarian: бомбастичен (bg) (bombastičen)

lofty, extravagant

• Bulgarian: екстравагантен (bg) (ekstravaganten)