| English Dictionary |
LOFTY (loftier, loftiest)
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
, loftiest Dictionary entry overview: What does lofty mean?
• LOFTY (adjective)
The adjective LOFTY has 3 senses:
1. of high moral or intellectual value; elevated in nature or style
2. of imposing height; especially standing out above others
3. having or displaying great dignity or nobility
Familiarity information: LOFTY used as an adjective is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: loftiest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Of high moral or intellectual value; elevated in nature or style
Synonyms:
elevated; exalted; grand; high-flown; high-minded; idealistic; lofty; noble-minded; rarefied; rarified; sublime
Context example:
a grand purpose
Similar:
noble (having or showing or indicative of high or elevated character)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Of imposing height; especially standing out above others
Synonyms:
eminent; lofty; soaring; towering
Context example:
towering icebergs
Similar:
high ((literal meaning) being at or having a relatively great or specific elevation or upward extension (sometimes used in combinations like 'knee-high'))
Derivation:
loftiness (impressiveness in scale or proportion)
loftiness (the quality of being high or lofty)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Having or displaying great dignity or nobility
Synonyms:
gallant; lofty; majestic; proud
Context example:
proud alpine peaks
Similar:
impressive (making a strong or vivid impression)
Derivation:
loftiness (impressiveness in scale or proportion)
Context examples
It was the only fit way in which he could express the tremendous and lofty emotion he felt for her.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
“You are not to suppose that he hasn't got a longer name, if he chose to use it,” said my aunt, with a loftier air.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
In a lofty way he received the attentions of the multitudes of strange gods.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
You won’t have Mars again in your lofty professional sector for two more years, not until December 2021.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
A shout burst from his comrades as they watched the swift and lofty flight of the heavy bolt.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
They were held in their lofty places of honor.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Returning through the large and lofty hall, they ascended a broad staircase of shining oak, which, after many flights and many landing-places, brought them upon a long, wide gallery.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
They were all three of the loftiest stature of women.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
I followed him to the top of a very lofty stair, and there, right under the slates, were a couple of empty, dusty little rooms, uncarpeted and uncurtained, into which he led me.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
This lofty cloud, imaged by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, was part of the winter cap of condensation over Titan's north pole.
(NASA Finds Methane Ice Cloud in Titan's Stratosphere, NASA)
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