arrogant

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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Choose the Right Synonym for 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

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 on the Web

Fellow Arabs often deride Saudis as rich, lazy and arrogant. — The Economist, "How to ensure Muhammad bin Salman’s reforms succeed," 23 June 2018 But not even this president* is dumb and/or arrogant enough to risk a massive constitutional crisis simply to save himself a little embarrassment concerning the circumstances of his election. — Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, "Getting to the Bottom of the Memo Cesspool," 1 Feb. 2018 With exceptions made for arrogant, in-your-face showmanship, this should be a much more acceptable part of the game. — Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, "A wish list for the 2018 baseball season," 24 Mar. 2018 Only the arrogant ascendance of psychiatry in postwar America—warmly remembered by Neubauer's former research assistant, Natasha Josefowitz—can account for the researchers' duplicity. — J.r. Jones, Chicago Reader, "Triplets ripped from family in a Nazi-like experiment, probed in Three Identical Strangers," 5 July 2018 Some former Bell Pottinger employees say that Henderson’s decision to maintain the Oakbay account can be attributed not just to financial pressure but to his arrogant management style. — Ed Caesar, The New Yorker, "The Reputation-Laundering Firm That Ruined Its Own Reputation," 25 May 2018 He is described by those who know him as intelligent, and sometimes arrogant. — Katy Moeller, idahostatesman, "Father Faucher's fall from grace: Once a respected priest, now he holds Mass in jail," 4 June 2018 His energy is arrogant and abrasive, and his young children appear both embarrassed and afraid. — Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, "How to Tap Into Your Own Psychic Abilities," 2 July 2018 Also incredibly arrogant, reckless, unafraid, petulant and unscrupulous. — Dylan Hernandez, latimes.com, "World Cup offers Argentina's Lionel Messi the stage to be on the same level as countryman Diego Maradona," 13 June 2018

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.

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Last Updated

4 Sep 2018

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The first known use of arrogant was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for arrogant

arrogant

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of arrogant

: 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

See the full definition for arrogant in the English Language Learners Dictionary

arrogant

adjective

ar·ro·gant | \ˈer-ə-gənt