Lofty Meaning
/ˈlɒfti/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjHigh, tall, having great height or stature.
adjIdealistic, implying over-optimism.
Sentence Examples
That's to me like a flower on lofty heights.
The world loves to blacken the radiant and to pull the lofty into the dust.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The mountaineer gazed up at the ____ peak that pierced the clouds.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The young entrepreneur had ____ ambitions for her new tech startup, hoping to change the world one day.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English lofty, lofti, lofte (“of high rank; noble; ornate”), equivalent to loft (“sky, firmament; upper room”) + -y.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The lofty mountains roſe faint to the ſight and loſt their foreheads in the diſtant ſkies: the little hills, cloathed in darker green and ſkirted with embroidered vales, diſcovered the ſecret haunts of kids and bounding roes."
— 1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page iv:
"On my left was a river, which came roaring down from a range of lofty mountains right before me to the south-east."
— 1862, George Borrow, chapter 98, in Wild Wales, archived from the original on 24 Dec 2011:
"When the night was half spent, I rose and walked on, till the day broke in all its beauty and the sun rose over the heads of the lofty hills and athwart the low gravelly plains."
— 1885, Richard F. Burton, “Night 551”, in The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night:
"A goal from Steven Caulker, just after the hour mark, was enough to hand victory to Malky Mackay's men, with Swansea falling some way short of the lofty standards they have set previously at this level."
— 3 November 2013, Delme Parfitt, “Cardiff City 1 - 0 Swansea City: Steven Caulker heads Bluebirds to South Wales derby win”, in Wales Online:
"that lofty pity with which prosperous folk are apt to remember their grandfathers"
— 1886, Frederic Harrison, The Choice of Books:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The mountaineer gazed up at the ____ peak that pierced the clouds.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The young entrepreneur had ____ ambitions for her new tech startup, hoping to change the world one day.