arrogance
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of arrogance
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin arrogantia “presumption”; see arrogant, -ance
Explanation
Arrogance is overbearing pride or haughtiness. If your friends are constantly complaining about your arrogance, you might want to lose the haughty attitude and try to be more humble. Arrogance comes from the Latin arrogans which means overbearing. If you show arrogance, your pride is overbearing and offensive to others. Arrogance can also be attributed to corporations who fail to take consumer opinion into account and to nations that seem to do whatever they want with no regard for other countries.
Vocabulary lists containing arrogance
The Westing Game
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Dwight D. Eisenhower, "The Military-Industrial Complex" (1961)
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Thirteen Reasons Why
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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.
These Knicks don’t exude any of their hometown’s rowdy, center-of-the-planet arrogance.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
Whether this is intentional behavior born of the arrogance of power or a symptom of a deteriorating mental state is somewhat beside the point.
From Salon • May 26, 2026
The smugness, arrogance and hubris in this city is so thick you could cut it with a knife.
From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026
"I think it would be the height of arrogance for me to tell somebody else what to do," he said.
From Barron's • May 5, 2026
With insufferable vanity had she believed herself in the secret of every body’s feelings; with unpardonable arrogance proposed to arrange every body’s destiny.
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
