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Glite Dictionary
lah-di-dah

lah-di-dah

9.9
Acting very fancy to show you are better than others
  • adjective
  • /ˌlɑː dɪ ˈdɑː/
  • Offensive
translation icon : afectado
  • At the party, she acted all lah-di-dah, pretending to be a socialite even though she was just a waitress.

Examples

  • The lah-di-dah decor in the restaurant seemed out of place for such a casual dining experience.

  • His lah-di-dah attitude made it clear that he looked down on those who didn't have expensive tastes.

  • Well, lah-di-dah.

    The Son of Bigfoot (2017)

Synonyms

pretentious
vslah-di-dah
  • Offensive
74 7.3

Trying to seem more important or clever than you really are

focuses more on affected refinement and snobbish manners specifically
pompous
vslah-di-dah
57 5.8

Acting more important and formal than necessary

is more about pretending refined or fancy taste than pure self importance
hoity-toity
vslah-di-dah
  • Informal
5 9.5

Being too proud and acting as if you are better than other people

is more about affected refinement and being fashionably fancy rather than just pride
highfalutin
vslah-di-dah
  • Informal
4 9.3

Behaving or speaking in a fancy way to seem more important

is more about refined affectation than broad pompous importance
hifalutin
vslah-di-dah
  • Informal
1 9.9

Very fancy in a way that shows you think you are better than others

leans more toward genteel affectation rather than general grandiosity
schmancy
vslah-di-dah
  • Informal
1 9.6

Looking expensive or stylish in a showy, joking way

is more about sincere affectation and snobbishness rather than playful showiness
bougie
vslah-di-dah
  • Offensive
1 9.3

Acting as if you are rich or high class

centres more on affected refinement and faux gentility than class signals
la-di-da
vslah-di-dah
  • Informal
9.9

Acting very formal and proud to seem better than others

has identical meaning but differs as an alternate spoken or written form
highfaluting
vslah-di-dah
  • Informal
9.9

Showing off and acting more important than others

puts slightly more stress on pretending refined taste than sheer pomp
dicty
vslah-di-dah
  • Offensive
9.9

Acting like you are better than other people

is the standard description focusing on refined affectation rather than slang tone

Antonyms

genuine
156 3.2

Truly felt and not fake, for example a smile or apology

down-to-earth
42 4.1

A person who is practical and sensible in a friendly, not showy way

How Pretentious

pompous
57 5.8
snobbish
  • Offensive
7 5.3
pretentious
  • Offensive
74 7.3
lah-di-dah
  • Offensive
9.9
affected
7.5
showy
8 3.2
plain
208 1.0

Surface Forms

lah-di-dah positive

Etymology

Lah-di-dah comes from people copying upper-class speech with playful sounds like la, di, and dah to sound fancy. So calling something lah-di-dah means it is pretending to be 'fancy' or 'snobbish'.