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lah-di-dah

lah-di-dah

1 9.9
Acting very fancy to show you are better than others
  • adjective
  • /ˌlɑː dɪ ˈdɑː/
  • Offensive
: 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.

Synonyms

pretentious
vslah-di-dah
  • Offensive
67 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
60 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
7 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
bougie
vslah-di-dah
  • Offensive
7 9.3

Acting as if you are rich or high class

centres more on affected refinement and faux gentility than class signals
schmancy
vslah-di-dah
  • Informal
7 9.6

Looking expensive or stylish in a showy, joking way

is more about sincere affectation and snobbishness rather than playful showiness
highfalutin
vslah-di-dah
  • Informal
6 9.3

Behaving or speaking in a fancy way to seem more important

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

Acting very formal and proud to seem better than others

has identical meaning but differs as an alternate spoken or written form
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
dicty
vslah-di-dah
  • Offensive
1 9.9

Acting like you are better than other people

is the standard description focusing on refined affectation rather than slang tone
highfaluting
vslah-di-dah
  • Informal
1 9.9

Showing off and acting more important than others

puts slightly more stress on pretending refined taste than sheer pomp

Antonyms

140 3.2

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

48 4.1

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

How Pretentious

pompous
60 5.8
snobbish
  • Offensive
7 5.3
pretentious
  • Offensive
67 7.3
lah-di-dah
  • Offensive
1 9.9
affected
4 7.5
showy
9 3.2
plain
180 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'.