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Definition of "high-toned" []

  • Intellectually, morally, or socially superior. (adjective)
  • Informal Pretentiously elegant or fashionable: a high-toned restaurant. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "high-toned" in a sentence
  • "It was a very grave situation and we used to need to stroke our chins about whether bloggers or Paul Krugman were ruining the high-toned debate that had previously taken place between conservatives, right-wingers, the center-right, moderate Republicans, and reasonable liberals."
  • "It was no doubt a little more than unsettling when the Sofitel Hotel, located on that high-toned stretch, attracted an enormous amount of attention recently."
  • "To tie together a book that covers the colonial-era tavern, the frontier barrelhouse, the high-toned New York City saloon, the German beer-garden, the speakeasy, the cocktail lounge, the gay bar and even the contemporary neo-speakeasy, a writer needs a grand theme."