arrogance

ar·ro·gance

noun \ˈer-ə-gən(t)s, ˈa-rə-\

Definition of ARROGANCE

: an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions

Examples of ARROGANCE

1. Her arrogance has earned her a lot of enemies.
2. We were shocked by the arrogance of his comments.
3. 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
4. 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
5. Arrogance is, at once, what an athlete most needs and what fans least want to see. —Dan Le Batard, ESPN, 15 Mar. 2004
6. 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

Origin of ARROGANCE

(see arrogant)

First Known Use: 14th century

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

Related Words: authoritativeness, bossiness, bowwow, brag, dominance, high-handedness; condescension, disdain, scorn; chest-thumping, inflation, self-assertion, side [chiefly British], snobbery, snobbishness, snobbism, snootiness; attitude, cheek, cheekiness, impertinence, impudence, sauciness; boastfulness, bombast, braggadocio, bravado, strut, swagger, triumphalism, vaingloriousness, vainglory; cockiness, complacence, conceit, egoism, egotism, pride, pridefulness, self-assumption, self-centeredness, self-complacency, self-conceit, self-content, self-contentment, self-opinion, self-partiality, self-satisfaction, smugness, swelled head, vanity; superiority complex

Near Antonyms: bashfulness, demureness, retiringness, shyness; diffidence, self-distrust, self-doubt, timidity, timidness; lowliness, meekness, mousiness, passiveness, passivity, submissiveness; quietness, reserve, reservedness

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