ˈhigh-ˌsounding, a.
1. Emitting a high or loud sound; highly sonorous.
| 1560 Bible (Genev.) Ps. cl. 5 Praise ye him with high sounding cymbals. 1717 Fenton Poems 212 (Jod.) When his highsounding lyre his valour rais'd. 1784 Cowper Task v. 681 Ah, tinkling cymbal and high-sounding brass, Smitten in vain! |
2. Having an imposing or pretentious sound.
| 1784 De Lolme Eng. Const. i. ii. (ed. 4) 33 Vested with more high-sounding prerogatives. a 1862 Buckle Civiliz. (1869) III. iii. 131 They had high-sounding titles. 1877 E. R. Conder Bas. Faith iv. 145 What real meaning is there in the highsounding phrase, so often repeated, ‘Knowledge of things in themselves’? |