| / English Dictionary |
LOFTY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected forms: loftier , loftiest
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Of imposing height; especially standing out above others
Example:
towering icebergs
Synonyms:
eminent; lofty; soaring; towering
Classified under:
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 2
Meaning:
Having or displaying great dignity or nobility
Example:
proud alpine peaks
Synonyms:
gallant; lofty; majestic; proud
Classified under:
Similar:
impressive (making a strong or vivid impression)
Derivation:
loftiness (impressiveness in scale or proportion)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Of high moral or intellectual value; elevated in nature or style
Example:
a grand purpose
Synonyms:
elevated; exalted; grand; high-flown; high-minded; idealistic; lofty; noble-minded; rarefied; rarified; sublime
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
noble (having or showing or indicative of high or elevated character)
Context examples:
Beyond the green swelling hills of the Mittel Land rose mighty slopes of forest up to the lofty steeps of the Carpathians themselves.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
NASA’s New Horizons mission has discovered a new, apparently less lofty mountain range on the lower-left edge of Pluto’s best known feature, the bright, heart-shaped region named Tombaugh Regio (Tombaugh Region).
(New Horizons Finds Second Mountain Range in Pluto’s ‘Heart’, NASA)
From my infancy I was imbued with high hopes and a lofty ambition; but how am I sunk!
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
Late on Jan. 20, 2016, the Van Allen Probes observed chorus waves from its lofty vantage point and immediately after, FIREBIRD II saw microbursts.
(FIREBIRD II and NASA Mission Locate Whistling Space Electrons’ Origins, NASA)
The light had suddenly gone out, the glimmering square of window had disappeared, and the third floor formed a dark band round the lofty building, with its tiers of shining casements.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The slopes of the knoll and all the inside of the stockade had been cleared of timber to build the house, and we could see by the stumps what a fine and lofty grove had been destroyed.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Sir Walter had taken a very good house in Camden Place, a lofty dignified situation, such as becomes a man of consequence; and both he and Elizabeth were settled there, much to their satisfaction.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
So he went home again; and as he came near he saw his wife Ilsabill sitting on a very lofty throne made of solid gold, with a great crown on her head full two yards high; and on each side of her stood her guards and attendants in a row, each one smaller than the other, from the tallest giant down to a little dwarf no bigger than my finger.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
The Professor charged up and down the green aisles like a stout Teutonic knight, with a pole for a lance, leading on the boys, who made a hook and ladder company of themselves, and performed wonders in the way of ground and lofty tumbling.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
I could not feel the full force of the wind, for we were running with it; but from my lofty perch I looked down as though outside the Ghost and apart from her, and saw the shape of her outlined sharply against the foaming sea as she tore along instinct with life.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
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