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arrogate

American  
[ar-uh-geyt] / ˈær əˌgeɪt /

verb (used with object)

arrogates, present (3rd person singular) arrogated, past participle, past arrogating present participle
  1. to claim unwarrantably or presumptuously; assume or appropriate to oneself without right.

    to arrogate the right to make decisions.

  2. to attribute or assign to another; ascribe.


arrogate British  
/ əˈrɒɡətɪv, ˈærəˌɡeɪt /

verb

  1. (tr) to claim or appropriate for oneself presumptuously or without justification

  2. (tr) to attribute or assign to another without justification

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of arrogate

1530–40; < Latin arrogātus appropriated, assumed, questioned (past participle of arrogāre ), equivalent to arrog- ( ar- ar- + rog ( āre ) to ask, propose) + -ātus -ate 1

Explanation

To arrogate is to take over. When the teacher steps out of the classroom and some bossy student marches up to the front of the class and begins scolding the other kids? The student is trying to arrogate the teacher's authority. When someone takes control of something, often without permission, such as when a military general assumes the power of a country's government after getting rid of the previous leader, they arrogate power or control to themselves. Occasionally the verb arrogate means something like "assert one's right to," or take something that is deserved, but more often it implies a taking by force.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He won in 2017 with Arrogate and in 2020 with Mucho Gusto.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2024

And then there was Arrogate running down California Chrome in the stretch in 2016.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2023

She’s 3, the Kentucky Oaks champion, sired by the great Arrogate.

From Washington Post • May 20, 2022

Secret Oath is the daughter of Arrogate and glides more like him than Lukas’ star fillies of decades past.

From Seattle Times • May 18, 2022

Arrogate, ar′rog-āt, v.t. to claim as one's own: to claim proudly or unduly.—ns.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

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