arrogant
adjective
ar·ro·gant
ˈer-ə-gənt 
ˈa-rə-
1
: exaggerating or disposed to exaggerate one's own worth or importance as shown especially by excessively confident or rudely dismissive behavior
an arrogant jerk
Arrogant leaders often harm workplace relationships due to their inability to value others' opinions or contributions.—
Joseph Folkman
Joseph Folkman2
: showing an offensive attitude of superiority : coming from or characterized by arrogance
her arrogant reply
arrogant behavior
… an arrogant disregard for ordinary working class people …—Paul Kavanagh
Paul Kavanagh
arrogantly
adverb
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
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 on the Web
So long as that situation continues, the 43-year-old’s allegedly arrogant and stand-offish treatment of his players will not worry the club hierarchy too much.
—Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
The pilot opens with Powell’s character, arrogant college quarterback Russ Holliday, leading his Oregon Ducks team in the National Championship game against Georgia at the Rose Bowl.
—Angelique Jackson, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
Three or four decades ago, the newspaperman was appealingly raffish—at once a bum who drank too much and a knight-errant who charged unafraid at social injustice, succored the weak, and crossed lances with the powerful and arrogant.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Elsewhere, the details lifted from the book suffer in translation – Branagh’s Victor is appropriately arrogant but not adequately tortured; De Niro’s Monster is sensitive and intuitive, but drowns in the film’s hurried, hollow second half.
—Rory Doherty, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for arrogant
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Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
The pilot opens with Powell’s character, arrogant college quarterback Russ Holliday, leading his Oregon Ducks team in the National Championship game against Georgia at the Rose Bowl.
—Angelique Jackson, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
Three or four decades ago, the newspaperman was appealingly raffish—at once a bum who drank too much and a knight-errant who charged unafraid at social injustice, succored the weak, and crossed lances with the powerful and arrogant.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Elsewhere, the details lifted from the book suffer in translation – Branagh’s Victor is appropriately arrogant but not adequately tortured; De Niro’s Monster is sensitive and intuitive, but drowns in the film’s hurried, hollow second half.
—Rory Doherty, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for arrogant
Cite this Entry
“Arrogant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arrogant. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
arrogant
adjective
ar·ro·gant
ˈar-ə-gənt
1
: overly proud of oneself or one's own opinions
2
: marked by arrogance
arrogant remarks
arrogantly
adverb
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