English Reference
Noun

arrogance

n. uncountable
B2 Upper Intermediate US /ˈɛɹəɡəns/ UK /ˈæɹəɡəns/ ar·ro·gance UK spelling arrogances

n.the quality of being too proud and thinking you are much better or more important than other people. You use this to describe someone who does not show respect to others.

n.an offensive display of self-importance or superiority; an overbearing pride that manifests as a lack of respect for others.


SIMPLE

His arrogance makes it very difficult to work with him.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager's arrogance led him to ignore the warnings of his staff, which eventually caused the project to fail.

COMPLEX

While confidence is often seen as a professional asset, it can quickly sour into arrogance if one loses the ability to listen to dissenting opinions or acknowledge personal limitations.

Usage

Uncountable in its abstract sense; frequently used as the subject or object of a sentence to describe a personality trait.

He celebrated with a touch of arrogance that is so often the preserve of the special ones, staring down the Palace fans on the Holmesdale Road end.

BBC News· 28 Aug 2026

There’s definitely plenty of pride and self-assurance for being from Madrid, especially among gatos (cats, more on that below), but not enough to call it arrogance.

The Local· 27 Aug 2024

From Middle English arrogaunce, from Middle French arrogance, from Latin arrogantia.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin arrogantia
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated