all that

227 8.9

Someone who thinks they are much better than others

idiom

Slang

: creído

He thinks he's all that because he won the award, but it's just one achievement.

Examples

I wanna help you be all that you can be.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
I mean, was music all that important?

Woodstock (1970)
"Can it really be all that bad if I'm putting on such a stunning show for you?"

Academic text (2001)
She isn't all that mean like everyone says.

Bernie (2012)
It probably isn't all that good anyway.

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
I didn't really know that the concert mattered all that much to you.

The Break-Up (2006)
She acts like she's all that, but we all know she's just average.
When she entered the room, she walked with confidence, as if she were all that.

Synonyms

arrogant

vsall that

260 4.5

Behaving as if you are more important or better than other people

is the informal, less technical label for that overbearing stance

pretentious

vsall that

Offensive

74 7.3

Trying to seem more important or clever than you really are

is the informal, broader sense of exaggerated self importance

pompous

vsall that

57 5.8

Acting more important and formal than necessary

is the informal, more casual claim of exaggerated impressiveness

conceited

vsall that

24 5.4

Thinking you are much better than other people

is similar but expressed in informal, showy self-importance

egotistical

vsall that

Offensive

24 6.6

Seeing yourself as much more important than other people

is the informal, boastful version of that self-centered attitude

self-important

vsall that

13 5.8

Acting as if you are better than other people

is the informal, more boastful expression of that same attitude

self-aggrandizing

vsall that

Formal

4 8.6

Claiming to be more important or successful than you are

is the informal, shorter expression of that attention seeking behaviour

too big for one's britches

vsall that

Informal

3 9.1

Acting more important than you really are

is the informal, expressive way to call out that behaviour

vainglorious

vsall that

Literature

3 9.9

Bragging too much about how great you think you are

is the informal, general sense of boastful self-importance

overweening

vsall that

Formal

2 9.8

Too much pride and confidence that makes people dislike you

is the informal, exaggerated way to describe that excessive pride

egotistic

vsall that

Offensive

1 7.2

Thinking you are more important than other people

is the informal, more playful label for that inflated self view

hubristic

vsall that

Formal

1 8.4

Being too proud and too sure of yourself so you ignore advice and make bad decisions

is the informal way to describe that same extreme self importance

self-conceited

vsall that

7.7

Thinking you are better than other people

is the informal, exaggerated form of that same proud self-view

full of oneself

vsall that

Informal

6.9

Thinking you are better than other people

is the informal, colloquial way to describe that behavior

too big for one's boots

vsall that

8.2

Acting more confident and important than you really are

is the casual, idiomatic expression of that same arrogance

Antonyms

humble

222 2.8

Not proud and not thinking you are better than others

unimpressive

9 3.9

Not very good or likely to attract attention

How Impressive

grandiose

27 7.5

all that

Slang

227 8.9

impressive

584 3.4

competent

114 3.6

unremarkable

20 3.5

Surface Forms

all that positive

Morphology

all + that

The sense of degree comes partly from 'all' (as an intensifier meaning 'completely' or 'very'), but the contribution of 'that' is not literal and the phrase functions idiomatically as a colloquial degree modifier (especially in constructions like 'not all that'). A B1 learner who knows the words might guess a general intensifying or evaluative sense but would not reliably predict the exact pragmatic meaning or polarity, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The adjective all that comes from the idea of all and that, like the longer phrase 'all that and more'. The image of someone who thinks they have everything people want helps explain why all that now means 'very impressive' or 'full of yourself'.