First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
arrogance
noun ar·ro·gance \ˈer-ə-gən(t)s, ˈa-rə-\
: an insulting way of thinking or behaving that comes from believing that you are better, smarter, or more important than other people
Full Definition of ARROGANCE
: an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions
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Examples of ARROGANCE
- He was like a movie star at his high school reunion, muting his arrogance and trying to be a regular guy for old times' sake. He seemed to genuinely appreciate the honor. —Carlo Rotella, New York Times Sports Magazine, June 2008
- This kind of official arrogance is not new, of course, although it is perhaps more common in dictatorships than in democracies. —Ian Buruma, New York Times Book Review, 17 Sept. 2006
- Arrogance is, at once, what an athlete most needs and what fans least want to see. —Dan Le Batard, ESPN, 15 Mar. 2004
- A British expat who could have stepped out of a Graham Greene plot, Twyman makes an improbable Jamaican hero. His self-assurance borders on arrogance, particularly when something is not done precisely the way he would do it himself. —Barry Estabrook, Gourmet, July 2003
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Origin of ARROGANCE
(see arrogant)
Related to ARROGANCE
- Synonyms
- assumption, bumptiousness, consequence, haughtiness, hauteur, high horse, huffiness, imperiousness, loftiness, lordliness, masterfulness, peremptoriness, pomposity, pompousness, presumptuousness, pretense (or pretence), pretension, pretentiousness, self-consequence, self-importance, superciliousness, superiority, toploftiness
- Antonyms
- humility, modesty, unassumingness, unpretentiousness
ARROGANCE Defined for Kids
arrogance
noun ar·ro·gance \ˈer-ə-gəns\
Definition of ARROGANCE for Kids
: a person's sense of his or her own importance that shows itself in a proud and insulting way
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