haughty
/ˈhɔːti/adjective
haughty is spelled H-A-U-G-H-T-Y: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, haughty means “Conveying in demeanour the assumption of superiority; disdainful, supercilious” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in haughty?
| Letters | 7: H-A-U-G-H-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 42,680th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is haughty?
Haughty appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce haughty?
- UK /ˈhɔːti/
- British /ˈhoːtɪj/
- /ˈhɔti/
Haughty has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-haughty.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with haughty
Sounds like: hottie (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with haughty?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as haughty from its last stressed vowel (/ɔti/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of haughty
- haughtier comparative
- haughtiest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does haughty mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Conveying in demeanour the assumption of superiority; disdainful, supercilious.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Haughty in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense disdainful, supercilious; in demeanour conveying the assumption of superiority:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | hautain, suffisant |
| German | hochmütig, stolz, überheblich, arrogant, hochnäsig, eingebildet |
| Portuguese | soberbo, vanglorioso, imodesto, altivo |
| Spanish | soberbio, altanero, altivo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does haughty come from?
From earlier hauty, haultic, with spelling change in imitation of English naughty and English high, from Middle English hautein, hautain (with -ein, -ain becoming -y through the form hautenesse standing for *hauteinnesse; see haughtiness), from Middle English haute (“self-important”), from Old French haut, hault (“high, lofty”), from Frankish *hauh, *hōh (“high, lofty, proud”) and Latin altus (“high, deep”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).