arrant

[ar-uhnt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR arrant ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

downright; thorough; unmitigated; notorious: an arrant fool.

wandering; errant.

Origin of arrant

1350–1400; Middle English, variant of errant

Related formsar·rant·ly, adverb

Can be confusedarrant errant

Synonyms for arrant

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR arrant ON THESAURUS.COM

1. thoroughgoing, utter, confirmed, flagrant.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for arrant

absolute, blatant, glaring, notorious, out-and-out, unmitigated, unregenerate

Examples from the Web for arrant

Historical Examples of arrant

"I'm afraid you're an arrant little coquette," said Katherine indulgently.
Viviette
William J. Locke
But they are all arrant cowards, and fear to approach me—fear even to come into this wood.
Green Mansions
W. H. Hudson
This made me think that my correspondent was an arrant block-head.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete
Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
If the old woman has got any arrant at all, it's likely it's to your mother and me.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 105, July 1866
Various
He was an arrant coward like the most of his downtrodden race.
Tess of the Storm Country
Grace Miller White

British Dictionary definitions for arrant

arrant

adjective

utter; out-and-outan arrant fool

Derived Formsarrantly, adverb

Word Origin for arrant

C14: a variant of errant (wandering, vagabond); sense developed from its frequent use in phrases like arrant thief (hence: notorious)

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

Word Origin and History for arrant

adj.

late 14c., variant of errant (q.v.); at first merely derogatory, "wandering, vagrant;" then (1540s) acquiring a meaning "thoroughgoing, downright, notorious."