arrogance
Americannoun
Other Word 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.
Though in his arrogance and presumption it would have been hard for any underling to put it to him, there was something else: the unique and sequined nature of his legitimacy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
You have to wonder if he’ll lose a bit of the arrogance, if the space between Watters’ segments and the network’s chosen tack will grow even wider.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
With the arrogance of youth, I’d never considered that growing older could be anything but positive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
He is played with a fine sense of clueless arrogance by Mr. Son, as the character idly practices his golf swing with a precision he fails to bring to his idle and addled mind.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Biblical writers saw the magnificent, 270-foot-high Tower of Babel as an emblem of man’s arrogance in trying to reach heaven.
From "The Annotated Mona Lisa" by Carol Strickland and John Boswell
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
