arrogate

[ar-uh-geyt]

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verb (used with object), ar·ro·gat·ed, ar·ro·gat·ing.

to claim unwarrantably or presumptuously; assume or appropriate to oneself without right: to arrogate the right to make decisions.

to attribute or assign to another; ascribe.

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. 2019

Related Words for arrogate

confiscate, presume, expropriate, seize, assume, commandeer, preempt, appropriate, take, usurp, demand, accroach

Examples from the Web for arrogate

Contemporary Examples of arrogate

And so they try to arrogate my medical authority for their cause.
Pediatrician: Don’t Make Your Kid’s Healthcare a Proxy in Your Divorce Battles
Russell Saunders
February 14, 2014
It is definitely alarming that a president can arrogate to himself this kind of power, whoever the president is.
Obama and the Justice Department Memo
Michael Tomasky
February 6, 2013

Historical Examples of arrogate

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.
History of the Jews, Vol. III (of 6)
Heinrich Graetz
You arrogate to yourselves all the rights, as you have done all the virtues!
The Pearl of the Andes
Gustave Aimard

British Dictionary definitions for arrogate

arrogate

verb

(tr) to claim or appropriate for oneself presumptuously or without justification

(tr) to attribute or assign to another without justification

Derived Formsarrogation, nounarrogative (əˈrɒɡətɪv), adjectivearrogator, noun

Word Origin for arrogate

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

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