airs and graces

airs and gra·ces
UK/ˌɛəz‿n̩ ˈɡɹeɪsɪz/US/ˌɛɚz‿n̩ ˈɡɹeɪsɪz/

noun

Behaviour adopted to demonstrate (originally) one's good upbringing; or (now) one's superiority; pretentious or snobbish behaviour.

Similar
affectationshoity-toityhuffinesspretensions
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Meanings

nounairs and graces pl (plural only)
  1. derogatorypluralplural onlyBehaviour adopted to demonstrate (originally) one's good upbringing; or (now) one's superiority; pretentious or snobbish behaviour.

    He made a thouſand uggly Faces, / VVhich (as ſometimes in Ladies caſes) / VVere all deſign'd for Airs and Graces.

    1697, [John Vanbrugh], “[Part I]”, in Æsop. A Comedy. […], 3rd edition, London: […] Richard Wellington, […], published 1702, →OCLC, Act II, page 18
    3 more examples

    Nature has laid out all her airt in beautifying the face; […] giving it airs and graces that cannot be described, and surrounded it with such a flowing shade of hair as sets all its beauties in the most agreeable light.

    1711 July 2 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “THURSDAY, June 22, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 98; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 43

    Indeed, she rehearsed that exalted part in life with great satisfaction to herself, and to the amusement of old Sir Pitt, who chuckled at her airs and graces, and would laugh by the hour together at her assumptions of dignity and imitations of genteel life.

    1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, “A Cynical Chapter”, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 357

    The station (1840) was originally Cheltenham but the more grandiose Cheltenham Spa since 1925, which feels a bit pretentious as the town has never allowed itself to assume such airs and graces.

    2023 January 11, Stephen Roberts, “Bradshaw's Britain: castles and cathedrals”, in RAIL, number 974, page 56

    Synonyms: affectations, hoity-toity, huffiness, pretensions

Synonyms & antonyms

nounBehaviour adopted to demonstrate (originally) one's good upbringing; or (now) one's superiority; pretentious or snobbish behaviour.

Similar
affectationshoity-toityhuffinesspretensions

Translations

Finnish hienostelu, pöyhkeily
  • hienostelubehaviour adopted (originally) to demonstrate one’s good upbringing; or (now) one’s superiority
  • pöyhkeilybehaviour adopted (originally) to demonstrate one’s good upbringing; or (now) one’s superiority
German Starallüren
  • Starallürenbehaviour adopted (originally) to demonstrate one’s good upbringing; or (now) one’s superiority
Māori whakaparanga
  • whakaparangabehaviour adopted (originally) to demonstrate one’s good upbringing; or (now) one’s superiority
Polish pycha
  • pychabehaviour adopted (originally) to demonstrate one’s good upbringing; or (now) one’s superiority
Swedish fisförnäm
  • fisförnämbehaviour adopted (originally) to demonstrate one’s good upbringing; or (now) one’s superiority

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with airs and graces

tracesbracesgraces
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

airs and graces. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/airs%20and%20graces

MLA

“airs and graces.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/airs%20and%20graces. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “airs and graces,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/airs%20and%20graces.

Source: airs and graces on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.