arrogant

arrogant — adjective

1. treating other people as if they do not matter, because you wrongly think you ar

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

treating other people as if they do not matter, because you wrongly think you are cleverer, more skilled, or more deserving than they are.

Example

Rashida was so arrogant that he refused to listen to the junior engineers on his team.

predicative use: be + arrogant + that-clause for behaviour consequence

The new manager came across as arrogant during her first meeting with the warehouse staff.

collocation: come across as arrogant

Common collocations
  • arrogant attitude
  • arrogant tone
  • arrogant manner
  • come across as arrogant
  • sound arrogant
  • arrogant remark
Synonyms
  • haughty

    more literary; suggests cold, distant superiority

  • conceited

    focuses on overrating one's own talents or looks

  • pompous

    emphasises showy, self-important speech or manner

  • egotistical

    centres on self-obsession rather than looking down on others

Antonyms
  • humble

    modest about one's own worth

  • modest

    avoids drawing attention to one's achievements

  • unassuming

    quiet and not seeking to impress

Usage Note

Always negative in tone — 'arrogant' carries clear disapproval, unlike 'confident' or 'self-assured'. Often modifies words for behaviour (manner, tone, smile, attitude) rather than describing achievements directly.

Common Mistakes

She is arrogant about her job.
She is arrogant about her abilities.
'arrogant about' takes qualities or achievements, not the role itself.
He gave an arrogant for the answer.
He gave an arrogant answer.
'arrogant' is an adjective, not a noun; the noun form is 'arrogance'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe an unpleasantly high opinion of oneself, but they differ in flavour and register. 'Arrogant' is the everyday choice and stresses dismissive behaviour toward others — an arrogant boss ignores his team's ideas. 'Haughty' is more literary and suggests a cold, distant air of social superiority, often shown through silence or a cool stare rather than words. 'Conceited' narrows the focus to overestimating one's own talents, looks, or achievements — a conceited singer keeps mentioning her awards. 'Pompous' targets showy, self-important speech and manner, especially using grand language to sound important. So a politician who talks down to voters is arrogant; one who delivers long, grand speeches is pompous; an actor who can't stop praising his own performance is conceited; an aristocrat who refuses to mix with ordinary guests is haughty.

arrogant ↗haughtyconceitedpompous

Common collocations

Nouns

  • arrogant attitude
  • arrogant tone
  • arrogant manner
  • arrogant remark
  • arrogant smile

Adverbs

  • unbearably arrogant
  • incredibly arrogant
  • downright arrogant
  • slightly arrogant

Phrases

  • come across as arrogant
  • sound arrogant
  • be seen as arrogant

Prepositions

  • arrogant about (one's abilities)
  • arrogant towards (someone)

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Reached English in the late 1300s through Old French 'arrogant', which came from the Latin verb 'arrogare', meaning to claim something for oneself. The Latin root is built from 'ad-' (to) plus 'rogare' (to ask), so the original idea is of a person who 'asks for' or 'claims' more status than they have any right to. The same Latin family gives English 'arrogate', 'prerogative', and 'interrogate'.