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arrogate

[ar-uh-geyt]
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verb (used with object), ar·ro·gat·ed, ar·ro·gat·ing.
  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.
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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 -ate1
Related formsar·ro·gat·ing·ly, adverbar·ro·ga·tion, nounar·ro·ga·tor, nounun·ar·ro·gat·ed, adjectiveun·ar·ro·gat·ing, adjective
Can be confusedabdicate abrogate arrogate derogate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

confiscatepresumeexpropriateseizeassumecommandeerpreemptappropriatetakeusurpdemandaccroach

Examples from the Web for arrogate

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • What right had he to arrogate to himself again powers of life and death?

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • But it is not for me to arrogate to determine the Queen's mind.

    St. Martin's Summer

    Rafael Sabatini

  • I am not come of a stock so distinguished that I can arrogate to myself the defence of my order.

    Luttrell Of Arran

    Charles James Lever

  • They did not arrogate to themselves the authority to originate.

  • You arrogate to yourselves all the rights, as you have done all the virtues!

British Dictionary definitions for arrogate

arrogate

verb
  1. (tr) to claim or appropriate for oneself presumptuously or without justification
  2. (tr) to attribute or assign to another without justification
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Derived Formsarrogation, nounarrogative (əˈrɒɡətɪv), adjectivearrogator, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin arrogāre, from rogāre to ask
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 arrogate

v.

1530s, from Latin arrogatus, past participle of arrogare "to claim for oneself" (see arrogance). Related: Arrogated; arrogating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper