arrogant

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adjective ar·ro·gant \ ˈer-ə-gənt , ˈa-rə- \

Definition of arrogant

1 :exaggerating or disposed to exaggerate one's own worth or importance often by an overbearing manner

an arrogant official

2 :showing an offensive attitude of superiority :proceeding from or characterized by arrogance

an arrogant reply

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arrogantly

adverb

See arrogant defined for English-language learners

See arrogant defined for kids

Examples of arrogant in a Sentence

Tim Blixseth, the founder of the Yellowstone Club and other gated hideaways, tells Frank: "I don't like most rich people. They can be arrogant." This from a man who owns two Shih Tzus named Learjet and G2. —Alex Beam, New York Times Book Review, 10 June 2007
Arrogant execs are not the only targets of investors' ire. … There's no telling how much money analysts such as Meeker cost investors with their interminable buy recommendations on Internet stocks that eventually went bust. —Marcia Vickers et al., Business Week, 25 Feb. 2002
Despite her social and business status in Washington, Graham remained unassuming and down to earth. Her quiet but steady courage affirmed women such as Geneva Overhosler, a former editor and Post ombudsman, by showing a woman could be powerful without being arrogant. —Mark Fitzgerald et al., Editor & Publisher, 23 July 2001
Shakespeare must have known that while his audiences loved to see villains punished and arrogant young men humbled, they did not want to fidget and squirm through mea culpas before the final scene. —Elaine Showalter, Civilization, April/May 1999
She's first in her class, but she's not arrogant about it.
the arrogant young lawyer elbowed his way to the head of the line of customers, declaring that he was too busy to wait like everybody else

Recent Examples of arrogant from the Web

Urrutia called Groen arrogant and cocky, and the argument raged for several minutes, with Groen cartoonishly aping Urrutia’s movements.

— david waldstein, New York Times, "Thousands of Players, Hundreds of Events and Little Reward," 18 Aug. 2017
His brother, Clyde Logan (Adam Driver) is a slow-talkin’ bartender who lost one of his arms serving in Iraq, but can still make a killer martini when an arrogant NASCAR sponsor played by Seth MacFarlane challenges him.

— lindsey bahr, Cincinnati.com, "Review: ‘Logan Lucky’ is sure to put a smile on your face," 16 Aug. 2017
Scrooged Riffing on Dickens, Bill Murray is an arrogant and thoughtless TV executive who, while planning to stage a live production of A Christmas Carol, winds up living out a crazed variation of that very story in Richard Donner's amusing update.

— esquire editors, Esquire, "The 25 Best Christmas Movies," 7 Aug. 2017
Led by a particularly noxious fictionalized character named Krauss (Will Poulter, who hasn't quite mastered Detroit's distinctive accent), the cops are alternately frightened and arrogant as the situation spirals into a waking nightmare.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "'Detroit' movie review: When 50 years ago feels like yesterday," 2 Aug. 2017
No matter what, not too far in the future, a standard race in which 33 cars burn fuel at obscene rates and befoul the immediate atmosphere with tire smoke and arrogant levels of noise . .

— john phillips, Car and Driver, "I'm Warming to Electric Race Cars, But Autonomous Racing Makes No Sense," 19 July 2017
Opposition politicians called her arrogant; one group of protesters near Dresden heckled her with abuse.

— kati marton, Vogue, "How Angela Merkel Became the Most Powerful Woman in the World," 18 July 2017
Commenters on social media mocked the governor as selfish and arrogant and cracked jokes about the sight of the heavyset Christie in a beach chair in sandals, shorts and a T-shirt.

— CBS News, "Chris Christie defends going to closed beach during government shutdown," 3 July 2017
Mohammed bin Salman will soon inherit one of the world's toughest jobs, one in which only an arrogant, ambitious man with an audacious plan is likely to succeed.

— ian bremmer, Time, "The Startling Rise of the Brash Young Man Who Would Be King of Saudi Arabia," 29 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'arrogant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of arrogant

Middle English, from Latin arrogant-, arrogans, present participle of arrogare — see arrogate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

arrogant Synonyms

Synonyms

assumptive, bumptious, cavalier, chesty, haughty, highfalutin (also hifalutin), high-and-mighty, high-handed, high-hat, huffish, huffy, imperious, important, lofty, lordly, masterful, overweening, peremptory, pompous, presuming, presumptuous, pretentious, self-asserting, self-assertive, sniffy, stiff-necked, supercilious, superior, toplofty (also toploftical), uppish, uppity

Antonyms

humble, lowly, modest, unarrogant, unpretentious

Near Antonyms

bashful, cowering, cringing, demure, diffident, introverted, mousy (or mousey), overmodest, self-critical, self-doubting, sheepish, shrinking, shy, subdued, timid; acquiescent, compliant, deferential, meek, passive, submissive, unaggressive, unassertive, unassuming, unobtrusive, yielding; quiet, reserved, retiring

Synonym Discussion of arrogant

proud, arrogant, haughty, lordly, insolent, overbearing, supercilious, disdainful mean showing scorn for inferiors. proud may suggest an assumed superiority or loftiness.

- too proud to take charity

arrogant implies a claiming for oneself of more consideration or importance than is warranted.

- a conceited and arrogant executive

haughty suggests a consciousness of superior birth or position.

- a haughty aristocrat

lordly implies pomposity or an arrogant display of power.

- a lordly condescension

insolent implies contemptuous haughtiness.

- ignored by an insolent waiter

overbearing suggests a tyrannical manner or an intolerable insolence.

- an overbearing supervisor

supercilious implies a cool, patronizing haughtiness.

- an aloof and supercilious manner

disdainful suggests a more active and openly scornful superciliousness.

- disdainful of their social inferiors

ARROGANT Defined for English Language Learners

arrogant

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adjective

Definition of arrogant for English Language Learners

: having or showing the insulting attitude of people who believe that they are better, smarter, or more important than other people : having or showing arrogance