Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
Arrant — Ar rant, a. [OE. erraunt, errant, errand, equiv. to E. errant wandering, which was first applied to vagabonds, as an errant rogue, an errant thief, and hence passed gradually into its present and worse sense. See {Errant}.] Notoriously or pre[… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
arrant — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ utter; complete. DERIVATIVES arrantly adverb. ORIGIN variant of ERRANT(Cf. ↑errantry), originally in phrases such as arrant thief, meaning «outlawed, roving thief» … English terms dictionary
arrant — [ar′ənt, er′ənt] adj. [var. of ERRANT] that is plainly such; out and out; notorious [an arrant fool] arrantly adv … English World dictionary
arrant — I adjective abominable, atrocious, bad, base, blameworthy, contemptible, crass, damnable, despicable, disgraceful, disreputable, egregious, evil, execrable, flagitious, flagrant, foul, heinous, ignominious, immoral, infamous, lawless, low, mean,… … Law dictionary
arrant — (adj.) late 14c., variant of ERRANT (Cf. errant) (q.v.); at first merely derogatory, wandering, vagrant; then (1540s) acquiring a meaning thoroughgoing, downright, notorious … Etymology dictionary
arrant — out and out, *outright, unmitigated … New Dictionary of Synonyms
arrant — [adj] flagrant absolute, blatant, glaring, notorious, out and out, unmitigated, unregenerate; concepts 401,545,576 … New thesaurus
arrant — [[t]æ̱rənt[/t]] ADJ: ADJ n (emphasis) Arrant is used to emphasize that something or someone is very bad in some way. That s the most arrant nonsense I ve ever heard. ...an arrant coward. Syn: unmitigated … English dictionary
arrant — adj. downright, utter, notorious (arrant liar; arrant nonsense). Derivatives: arrantly adv. Etymology: ME, var. of ERRANT, orig. in phrases like arrant (= outlawed, roving) thief … Useful english dictionary
arrant — [ ar(ə)nt] adjective literary utter; complete: what arrant nonsense! Derivatives arrantly adverb Origin ME: var. of errant, orig. in phrs such as arrant thief ( outlawed, roving thief ) … English new terms dictionary
arrant — adjective Etymology: alteration of errant Date: 14th century being notoriously without moderation ; extreme < we are arrant knaves, all; believe none of us Shakespeare > • arrantly adverb … New Collegiate Dictionary
