arrant


Also found in: Thesaurus.
Related to arrant: arrantly, countermand

arrant

downright, thorough, unmitigated, notorious, utter, confirmed, flagrant: an arrant playboy
Not to be confused with:
errant – deviating from the proper course; straying; moving aimlessly: an errant breeze
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

ar·rant

 (ăr′ənt)
adj.
Completely such; thoroughgoing: an arrant fool; the hotel's arrant luxury.

[Variant of errant.]

ar′rant·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

arrant

(ˈærənt)
adj
utter; out-and-out: an arrant fool.
[C14: a variant of errant (wandering, vagabond); sense developed from its frequent use in phrases like arrant thief (hence: notorious)]
ˈarrantly adv
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ar•rant

(ˈær ənt)

adj.
downright; thorough: an arrant fool.
[1350–1400; Middle English, variant of errant]
ar′rant•ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

arrant

- Means "complete, utter," as in arrant knave, "an extremely untrustworthy individual."
See also related terms for utter.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.arrant - without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers; "an arrant fool"; "a complete coward"; "a consummate fool"; "a double-dyed villain"; "gross negligence"; "a perfect idiot"; "pure folly"; "what a sodding mess"; "stark staring mad"; "a thoroughgoing villain"; "utter nonsense"; "the unadulterated truth"
unmitigated - not diminished or moderated in intensity or severity; sometimes used as an intensifier; "unmitigated suffering"; "an unmitigated horror"; "an unmitigated lie"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

arrant

adjective total, complete, extreme, absolute, gross, notorious, utter, outright, thorough, infamous, rank, blatant, monstrous, vile, downright, atrocious, out-and-out, flagrant, egregious, unmitigated, undisguised, thoroughgoing, deep-dyed (usually derogatory) That's the most arrant nonsense I've ever heard.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

arrant

adjective
2. Conspicuously bad or offensive:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations

arrant

[ˈærənt] ADJ (frm) [knave, liar etc] → consumado
arrant nonsensepuro disparate m
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

arrant

[ˈærənt] adj
He's talking arrant nonsense → Il raconte vraiment n'importe quoi.
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

arrant

adjErz-; arrant cowardErzfeigling m; arrant nonsensebarer Unsinn
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

arrant

[ˈærənt] adj arrant nonsensecolossali sciocchezze fpl
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
The general tuckermanities are arrant Bubbles - ephemeral and so transparent - But this is, now, - you may depend upon it - Stable, opaque, immortal - all by dint Of the dear names that lie concealed within 't.
Then tell me; art thou not an arrant, all-grasping, inter-meddling, monopolizing, heathenish old scamp, to be one day making legs, and the next day coffins to clap them in, and yet again life-buoys out of those same coffins?
Not that I feel the least indebted, upon this score, to my exceedingly weak-minded parents, who, beyond doubt, would have made an arrant genius of me at last, if my guardian angel had not come, in good time, to the rescue.
The Bishop no sooner saw this action than he knew his man, and that there was a trap set; and being an arrant coward, he wheeled his horse sharply and would have made off down the road; but his own men, spurred on the charge, blocked his way.
As arrant a whore-master as any within five miles o'un.
Here are such numbers, I will not say of arrant thieves, but of errant knights and errant squires, errant monks and errant minstrels, errant jugglers and errant jesters, that a man with a single merk would be in danger, much more a poor swineherd with a whole bagful of zecchins.
At first I thought them angels, but they did not leave me long under that delusion; three of the eldest and handsomest undertook the task of setting me right, and they managed so cleverly that in five minutes I knew them, at least, for what they were--three arrant coquettes."
Here voyageurs frolicked away their wages, fiddling and dancing in the booths and cabins, buying all kinds of knick-knacks, dressing themselves out finely, and parading up and down, like arrant braggarts and coxcombs.
"Well, Mary," he said, with a curious laugh, "I must be an arrant fool, for I thought you did." They walked for a minute or two in silence, and suddenly he turned to her, looked at her, and exclaimed: "I don't believe you, Mary.
I had expected a bitter fight from him after the wild tales the natives have been telling of his ferocity, but it was soon evident that he is an arrant coward, for I did not even have to fire my revolver--a few thumps with the butt of it upon his brainless skull sent him howling into the jungle with his pack at his heels."
Have you ever observed the remarkable adherence to set forms of speech which characterizes the talkers of arrant nonsense!
He maintained that the exiled communist leader's latest statement was just 'another arrant raving and incorrigible ranting coming from an aging armchair passe rebel, whose illusory vision has outsprinted the ticking hands of time.'