Arrogant

How to spell arrogant

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce arrogant

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does arrogant mean?

1. adjectiveHaving an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities, in a way that disregards others.

Arrogant in a sentence

• His arrogant tone in the meeting alienated the entire team.

• The new manager was too arrogant to listen to anyone with more experience.

Where does arrogant come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces to the Latin arrogare, meaning 'to claim for oneself' or 'to lay claim to something unduly'. It was built from the prefix ad-, meaning 'to' or 'towards', and the verb rogare, meaning 'to ask' or 'to demand'; so the literal idea was someone who arrogates, that is, who takes or claims more than is rightfully theirs. The present participle arrogans gave a sense of presumptuous self-importance. English borrowed the word in the 1300s by way of Old French arrogant, and it has carried its disapproving tone ever since. The same rogare root survives in everyday relatives such as 'interrogate' (to question between people) and 'prerogative' (a special right claimed in advance), and that buried double r in the middle is exactly the spot writers tend to drop when spelling arrogant.

How the word is built

• ad- (to, towards)
• rog (ask, claim)
• -ant (adjective suffix)