jumped-up attitude
- noun
- Offensive
- Don't let his jumped-up attitude fool you; he started here just last year.
Examples
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Her jumped-up attitude annoyed everyone at the meeting.
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I can't stand his jumped-up attitude during the presentation.
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Her jumped-up attitude made it hard for her coworkers to relate to her.
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People grew tired of his jumped-up attitude after only a few meetings.
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His jumped-up attitude and constant bragging made him unpopular among the team.
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Her jumped-up attitude led to conflicts with colleagues who preferred a more humble approach.
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Despite his skills, his jumped-up attitude turned many people against him.
Synonyms
Acting as if better than other people
Thinking you are more important than other people
Thinking you are more important or better than other people
Being too confident in a rude way
A way of behaving that shows you act too proud and think you are better than others
Acting as if more important or better than other people
A way of acting as if one is better than other people
A way of acting that is arrogant and demanding
Antonyms
How Arrogant
- Offensive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound adjective 'jumped-up' meaning 'pretentious' is metaphorical and somewhat lexicalized, so a B1 learner who only knows the literal senses of 'jumped' and 'up' would probably not predict the exact meaning. However, there is a partial cue — 'up' can suggest elevation in status and combined with 'attitude' yields an elevated/self-important stance — so the relation is partially inferable but not fully transparent.
Etymology
The expression jumped-up attitude comes from the picture of a person who suddenly jumped-up to a higher place and then looks down on others. That's why it now means 'being arrogant' or 'acting more important than others'.