Word: arrogant

Associations

Arrogant is an adjective that describes someone who has an overbearing sense of their own importance or abilities. When a person is arrogant, they often believe they are better than others and show this attitude in their behavior.

• He made an arrogant comment about his skills compared to his teammates. This shows he thinks he is superior in performance.
• Her arrogant refusal to admit she was wrong upset everyone in the meeting. This indicates she doesn't regard others' opinions or mistakes.
• The arrogant CEO dismissed the ideas of his employees. Here, it demonstrates how arrogance can lead to ignoring valuable input from others.

A common synonym for arrogant is "proud." However, "proud" can be positive, indicating self-respect, while "arrogant" has a negative connotation of ingratitude and disrespect towards others.

Substitution

In different contexts, you could use words like "haughty," "conceited," or "snobbish" instead of "arrogant."

• "Haughty" suggests a sense of superiority and disdain.
• "Conceited" emphasizes self-importance and vanity.
• "Snobbish" implies a belief that one is better due to social status or wealth.

Each of these words has its own nuance, but all convey some level of arrogance.

Deconstruction

The word "arrogant" comes from the Latin root "arrogare," which means "to claim for oneself." It is made up of the prefix "ad-" meaning "to" and the root "rogare," meaning "to ask." So, it loosely means to claim or ask for more than one deserves.

Inquiry

Consider these questions:

• Can you think of a time when you encountered someone who was arrogant? How did it affect your impression of them?
• How might arrogance impact personal relationships or teamwork?
• Do you think there are situations where being confident can be mistaken for arrogance? How can you tell the difference?