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 The latest trove of police reports show that Kohberger's classmates and professors saw him as an arrogant student who sought to dominate class discussions and would grow agitated when others disagreed with him. Christopher Cann, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2025 Pearce’s drag character Mitzi was the persona of Adam Whitely, an arrogant young gay man who often teasingly deadnames Bernadette as ‘Ralph’. Glenn Garner, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2025 The dance, not seen in years, is loosely based on the play by Eugene O’Neill, about an arrogant despot undone by his demons. Shauna Lyon, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2025 Depicting Americans as arrogant, loud, boorish and demeaning of other cultures, the term has stuck and is still mentioned 60-plus years later. Jenny Peters, Oc Register, 4 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for arrogant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arrogant
Adjective
  • Thanks to its partnership with Microsoft, resulting in near total control of PC chips throughout the 1990s, Intel got cocky.
    Tiana Lowe Doescher, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Ahmed will play cocky Flight Nurse Zay Patel, Meyboom as spirited rookie Flight Nurse Piper Adler, Eling as charming First Officer Wyatt Ellis, Lee as ambitious pilot Maya Yang, and Smith as Captain Riley, a globe-trotting pilot with a past connection to Wheezer.
    Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Guigal’s strategy isn’t built on pompous conservatism, but in long-term thinking.
    Paul Caputo, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
  • Louis Partridge will take on the scheming Mr Wickham, with Jamie Demetriou playing the pompous Mr Collins, Daryl McCormack as Jane’s beloved Mr Bingley, Siena Kelly as his sister Caroline and Shaw as the fearsome Lady Catherine de Bourg.
    Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The rest of the parts are the same, so that’s a big upcharge for a superior GPU and double the storage—though the RTX 5080 does offer a noticeable gaming-performance boost.
    Matthew Buzzi, PC Magazine, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Daskalakis was disturbed by Kennedy’s comments that chickens that survive H5N1 bird flu are genetically superior and that the stronger children who get measles will survive.
    Judy Stone, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Tire tread depth - Checking your tire tread before hitting the road is important, as low or no tread can lead to sliding.
    CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • And that became a very important part of the character.
    Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 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
  • Instead, Carrie’s holiday is filled with a revolving door of haughty art dealers and Gen Z queerdos, one of whom clogs the toilet and expels a sea of brown that Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is forced to clean up.
    Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Stories of haughty people scheming and plucky servants improving alarm clocks attract smaller audiences than, say, trench warfare.
    Elle Carroll, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Howard sells his smug malice, digging into Matt in a way no one has before until the whole thing devolves into a physical fight.
    Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
  • In fact, Martineau’s sign angered plenty of Democrats, some of whom were already worried that smug liberal activists are harming the party.
    David Weigel, semafor.com, 25 Aug. 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 July 1, 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 8 Sep. 2025.

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