as in cocky
having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude 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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective arrogant differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of arrogant are disdainful, haughty, insolent, lordly, overbearing, proud, and supercilious. While all these words mean "showing scorn for inferiors," arrogant implies a claiming for oneself of more consideration or importance than is warranted.

a conceited and arrogant executive

When is disdainful a more appropriate choice than arrogant?

The synonyms disdainful and arrogant are sometimes interchangeable, but disdainful suggests a more active and openly scornful superciliousness.

disdainful of their social inferiors

When would haughty be a good substitute for arrogant?

The words haughty and arrogant are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, haughty suggests a consciousness of superior birth or position.

a haughty aristocrat

When might insolent be a better fit than arrogant?

The words insolent and arrogant can be used in similar contexts, but insolent implies contemptuous haughtiness.

ignored by an insolent waiter

When could lordly be used to replace arrogant?

The meanings of lordly and arrogant largely overlap; however, lordly implies pomposity or an arrogant display of power.

a lordly condescension

Where would overbearing be a reasonable alternative to arrogant?

While the synonyms overbearing and arrogant are close in meaning, overbearing suggests a tyrannical manner or an intolerable insolence.

an overbearing supervisor

When can proud be used instead of arrogant?

In some situations, the words proud and arrogant are roughly equivalent. However, proud may suggest an assumed superiority or loftiness.

too proud to take charity

When is it sensible to use supercilious instead of arrogant?

While in some cases nearly identical to arrogant, supercilious implies a cool, patronizing haughtiness.

an aloof and supercilious manner

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of arrogant 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 Seeing this new photo of Prince Andrew at Epstein's side made 'Randy Andy' seem even more arrogant to me. Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 20 Oct. 2025 Some might see you as arrogant. Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 16 Oct. 2025 Jackson returns as Wes Bryant, a handsome, intelligent, but arrogant man who had just moved to Seattle and was revealed to be a new medical intern at Grey Sloan. Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for arrogant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arrogant
Adjective
  • But his subtle brush-off of Collins is a sign of the cocky and brash kid already beginning to emerge — the same one who could cut down people down to size on his way to redefining himself and jolting both the New York folk scene and the world of pop at large.
    David Browne, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2025
  • Don’t come on too hard or cocky; give practical reasons that showcase how your experience will benefit the company.
    Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and María Luisa Manrique de Lara y Gonzaga (a rather pompous name that encompassed two major hereditary estates, a principality, a county, a marquisate, and, for a time, a viceroyalty) met in 1680 in Mexico City.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025
  • His portrayal of a pompous, yapping intellectual who's rotten to the core rings uncomfortably true, as do the performances of Thatcher and East as their characters nonverbally communicate their discomfort to each other.
    Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • And when daily wear and tear was simulated – through continuous electric-toothbrush abrasion equivalent to about a year of brushing, as well as chewing and grinding – the teeth actually had superior resistance to wear, fracture and acid attack compared with natural enamel.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Instead of settling for 3-pointers, Boozer took the ball hard to the basket in the second half while a Duke team with obviously superior talent to Texas got untracked.
    Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Tire tread depth - Checking your tire tread before hitting the road is important, as low or no tread can lead to sliding.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 9 Nov. 2025
  • While collective structure and movements are really important for Perez’s teams, his players must actively think about each decision on the pitch, not just robotically follow instructions from the coaching staff.
    Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Klára works at a grocery store formerly owned by the family of her colleague Elza (Hermina Fátyol) but now taken over by a supercilious Stalinist (Konrád Quintus) who doesn’t bother hiding his disdain for the two Jewish women.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
  • The plot revolves around the attempts of various parties to get a hold of a Lakota ghost shirt that has come into the possession of a supercilious business tycoon and acquirer of rare artifacts, Pendleton Duvall (Toby Huss).
    Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • In the small Campo dei Tolentini, presided over by the haughty neoclassical columns of the eponymous church, a queue straggles from a tiny bar.
    Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Lellouche stars as unlikely hero Zem, a disillusioned Zone 3 cop with an idealistic militant past, who is teamed with haughty, high-flying Zone 2 officer Salia, played by Adèle Exarchopoulos, after a leading politician is assassinated in Zone 1.
    Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • As a sleazy, lecherous publicist pinned in a Manhattan phone booth by a faceless sniper on the other end of the line, Farrell goes from smug condescension to breathless victimhood pretty effortlessly.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
  • But Minnesota, with or without its unapologetically smug superstar, has been the Nuggets’ kryptonite for more than a year.
    Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Like the opera, the film blends these disparate moods and tones at a whirlwind tempo: slapstick comedy and poignant melodrama, graceful lyricism and bumptious braggadocio, witty satire and bitter tragedy.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 30 July 2025
  • This splendid, wry satire is about a wealthy family, self-important and confident in their morality, whose blithe and bumptious existences are thrown into disarray when their father clandestinely decides to give all their money to charity, and so (in their opinions) completely destroys their lives.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Arrogant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arrogant. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.

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