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arrogant

arrogant

260 4.5
Behaving as if you are more important or better than other people
  • adjective
  • /ˈɛrəɡənt/
translation icon : arrogante
  • He is arrogant and has no remorse.
  • very arrogant
  • rather arrogant
  • less arrogant

And I think that being a little bit arrogant, it works well.

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Examples

  • And the West is seen as arrogant, hubristic, destructive.

  • His arrogant attitude made it difficult for him to work with his colleagues.

  • I mean, I was probably such an arrogant person, no doubt.

  • My God, could you get any more arrogant than that?

  • But there was something smooth, passive, and arrogant in the manner of many of the children.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • You were cocky, you were arrogant and you had a lot to learn.

  • The problem was, naive and arrogant as I was at the time, I got into trouble.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Both men had a certain kind of sharp good looks and an air of arrogant accomplishment.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Only Myrna remained the same: icy, arrogant, and certain of getting her own way.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The older man clearly dominates the conversation with his arrogant composure and absolute confidence in his judgment.

    Academic text (1994)

Synonyms

cocky
vsarrogant
  • Informal
99 4.2

Being too confident and acting proud so other people dislike you

is more about acting superior and treating others disrespectfully
smug
vsarrogant
85 5.2

A person who feels too pleased with themselves in a way that annoys others

is more openly overbearing and rude toward other people
pretentious
vsarrogant
  • Offensive
74 7.3

Trying to seem more important or clever than you really are

is less about show and more about bluntly treating others as inferior
pompous
vsarrogant
57 5.8

Acting more important and formal than necessary

is harsher and often more openly insulting toward others
conceited
vsarrogant
24 5.4

Thinking you are much better than other people

shows that plus openly bossy or disrespectful behaviour toward others
egotistical
vsarrogant
  • Offensive
24 6.6

Seeing yourself as much more important than other people

manifests that self focus with rude or overbearing acts toward others
stuck-up
vsarrogant
  • Offensive
22 7.5

A person who thinks they are better than other people

is more actively offensive and disrespectful rather than only distant
insolent
vsarrogant
22 7.1

Rude and not showing respect to other people

focuses more on proud superiority rather than only rude replies
high-and-mighty
vsarrogant
  • Offensive
20 8.2

Acting as if you are better than other people

is similar but often more broadly overbearing and insulting
snooty
vsarrogant
16 7.4

Acting as if you are better than other people

is wider, often showing active disrespect beyond social snobbery
haughty
vsarrogant
14 8.1

Acting proud and looking down on other people

can be more openly forceful and rude in interactions
self-important
vsarrogant
13 5.8

Acting as if you are better than other people

expresses that belief through bossy or disrespectful behaviour
douchey
vsarrogant
  • Offensive
11 9.7

Being rude and acting like you are better than other people

adds clear superiority and intentional disrespect to that behaviour
impudent
vsarrogant
9 7.9

Someone who shows no respect by acting or speaking boldly

is similar in rudeness but more centred on feeling superior
prideful
vsarrogant
8 6.1

Feeling or acting as if you are better than other people

is more likely to behave in a condescending, disrespectful way
egomaniacal
vsarrogant
  • Offensive
6 8.6

A person who only cares about themselves and thinks they are more important than other people

is less pathological but more about acting superior to others
immodest
vsarrogant
4 6.8

Thinking you are much better or more important than others

often becomes openly disdainful and dismissive of other people
supercilious
vsarrogant
4 8.9

Acting as if you are better than other people

is broader, also including loud or overbearing disrespectful behaviour
too big for one's britches
vsarrogant
  • Informal
3 9.1

Acting more important than you really are

is harsher, often showing clear disrespect and overbearing attitude
overweening
vsarrogant
  • Formal
2 9.8

Too much pride and confidence that makes people dislike you

manifests that pride by treating others as inferior or unimportant
egotistic
vsarrogant
  • Offensive
1 7.2

Thinking you are more important than other people

tends to express that feeling by treating others with contempt
hubristic
vsarrogant
  • Formal
1 8.4

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

leans more toward dominating others and showing open disrespect
bumptious
vsarrogant
1 9.9

Too confident and rude in a way that annoys other people

matches that force but adds a colder, contemptuous attitude
lordly
vsarrogant
1 8.0

Acting very proud and treating others as unimportant

is less formal but equally likely to be openly overbearing
chesty
vsarrogant
1 8.2

Showing too much pride and acting as if better than others

is more focused on actively treating others with disrespect
self-conceited
vsarrogant
7.7

Thinking you are better than other people

adds clear overbearing behaviour and disdain for other people
full of oneself
vsarrogant
  • Informal
6.9

Thinking you are better than other people

is harsher, often also showing disrespect and domineering manner
swollen-headed
vsarrogant
  • Offensive
8.0

Thinking you are much more important than other people

usually goes further into rude, overbearing treatment of others
too big for one's boots
vsarrogant
  • UK
8.2

Acting more confident and important than you really are

is more openly overbearing and insulting to other people

Antonyms

222 2.8

Not proud and not thinking you are better than others

81 2.7

Not thinking you are better than others and not boasting

How Arrogant

egotistical
  • Offensive
24 6.6
haughty
14 8.1
arrogant
260 4.5
humble
222 2.8

Surface Forms

arrogant positive
arroganter comparative
arrogantest superlative

Morphology

arrogant = arrog (opaque) = arrog + ant

The base 'arrog' is not a standalone English word and its meaning is not transparent to learners.

Etymology

Arrogant comes from the Latin parts ad- 'to' and rogare 'to ask', so it originally meant 'to ask for yourself'. You can also see the same root in interrogate 'to ask'. That is why an arrogant person acts as if they deserve more and looks down on others.