arrogant

American  

[ar-uh-guhnt] / ˈær ə gənt /

adjective

1. making claims or pretensions to superior importance or rights; overbearingly assuming; insolently proud.

   an arrogant public official.

   Synonyms:

   brazen, imperious, haughty, presumptuous

   Antonyms:

   meek

2. characterized by or proceeding from arrogance, or a sense of superiority, self-importance, or entitlement.

   arrogant claims.

   Antonyms:

   humble, modest

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arrogant British  

/ ˈærəɡənt /

adjective

1. having or showing an exaggerated opinion of one's own importance, merit, ability, etc; conceited; overbearingly proud

   an arrogant teacher

   an arrogant assumption

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Related Words

See proud.

Other Word Forms

• arrogance noun
• arrogantly adverb
• superarrogant adjective
• superarrogantly adverb
• unarrogant adjective
• unarrogantly adverb

Etymology

Origin of arrogant

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin arrogant-, stem of arrogāns ) “presuming,” present participle of arrogāre; arrogate, -ant

Explanation

Arrogant is an adjective for describing people who are too proud and look down on others, like supermodels who think their good looks give them a right to do whatever they want. Arrogant derives from Latin arrogare "to claim," and the idea is that someone is claiming credit or advantages that they are not entitled to. It's close in meaning to haughty and supercilious, but both of those have connotations of coolness and perceived superiority that arrogant does not. An aristocrat could be called all three, but a customs official or traffic cop is more likely to be called arrogant than the other terms.

Example Sentences

More than five weeks into the war, the Iranian army has dismissed what it called Trump's "arrogant rhetoric and baseless threats", saying they would not hinder its operations.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

The ripples of the botched Watergate operation spoke to all of those arrogant enough to think they might be able to do it better.

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026

“The French often have a reputation for being arrogant, particularly in diplomacy,” said François Heisbourg, a former senior French diplomat, who described the shift as clever.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

“This arrogant man came up to me with a cigar and said, ‘Let me guess, this is your old man’s car,’” said Vera.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

“Dude, that sucks for you. Judging from the sound in Chrysaor’s throat, he was now snarling under the mask, too. “You are as arrogant as the first Perseus,” Chrysaor said.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• aloof
• bossy
• cavalier
• cocky
• haughty
• imperious
• pompous
• presumptuous
• pretentious
• smug
• vain