50+ Interesting Quotes About Arrogance From Notable People

Georgia Stone
Dec 12, 2023 By Georgia Stone
Originally Published on Jan 26, 2021
Edited by Jacob Fitzbright
Man with a swag sweating badly in blue shirt
Age: 0-99
Read time: 7.0 Min

Many people believe that there is a thin line between confidence and arrogance.

If asked, most people would admit that they would prefer to be called confident, rather than arrogant, as the latter generally has a negative connotation. Being arrogant may end up limiting a person's opportunities in life, as most people wouldn't want to be associated with you.

Many prolific writers have talked about the human condition in-depth, including the notion of arrogance in men and women. One of the most famous quotes is by Frank Lloyd Wright, where he says, "early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose the former and have seen no reason to change." If you know someone who has a dash of ignorance or arrogance in their personality, then some of these quotes will resonate with you. Here's a list of quotes about confidence, arrogance, and pride.

If you would like to read similar articles with cool quotes, you can check out [body confidence quotes] and [pride quotes].

Best Arrogance Quotes

Celebrity actress Miya George posing for photographers in the street before Film conference.

If you're looking for quotes about being arrogant, quotes about an arrogant man, or arrogant people quotes, then these quotes will delight you! Here's a list of the best arrogance quotes we could accumulate.

1. "Modesty is only arrogance by stealth."

- Terry Pratchett.

2. "The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance. "

- Albert Einstein.

3. "Arrogance is trying to convince others you're more than who they know you are."

- Bianca Frazier.

4. "There are two circumstances that lead to arrogance: one is when you're wrong and you can't face it; the other is when you're right and nobody else can face it."

- Criss Jami.

5. "Arrogant men show desperate determination to deny even the evidence to prove their prejudice."

- Amit Kalantri.

6. "Do you ever wonder at the arrogance of men who think they alone exist in the universe?"

- Nora Roberts.

7. "Self-love and arrogance are not equal. Arrogance is not self-love. It is low self-esteem robed in boastfulness. It is a barricade, not love."

- Florence Witt.

8. "Arrogance is when my mouth is moving but my words are not."

- Craig D. Lounsbrough.

9. "The truest characters of ignorance are vanity and pride and arrogance."

- Samuel Butler.

10. "When power leads man towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses."

- John F. Kennedy.

11. "Timing and arrogance are decisive factors in the successful use of talent."

- Marya Mannes.

12. "It takes a kind of shabby arrogance to survive in our time, and a fairly romantic nature to want to."

- Edgar Friedenberg.

13. "Early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose the former and have seen no reason to change."

- Frank Lloyd Wright.

14. "The most important scientific revolutions all include, as their only common feature, the dethronement of human arrogance from one pedestal after another of previous convictions about our centrality in the cosmos."

- Stephen Jay Gould.

15. "You can have a certain arrogance, and I think that's fine, but what you should never lose is the respect for the others."

- Steffi Graf.

16. 'Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow."

- William Pollard.

17. "The arrogance of age must submit to be taught by youth."

- Edmund Burke.

18. "I've never been too afraid of what other people have said, especially when I was younger, but I suppose that was the arrogance of youth."

- Francesca Annis.

19. "Any top-level athlete, it's always the same. There's always that hint of arrogance there... It's hard to be humble when you're the best."

- Conor McGregor.

20. "Arrogance is knowledge minus wisdom."

- Celso Cukierkorn.

Thought Provoking Quotes About Arrogance

Here's a list of arrogance quotes that will make you think.

21. "An arrogant person considers himself perfect. This is the chief harm of arrogance. It interferes with a person's main task in life, becoming a better person."

- Leo Tolstoy.

22. "Arrogance and ignorance go hand in hand."

- Metallica.

23. "But self-abasement is just inverted egoism. Anyone who acts with genuine humility will be as far from humiliation as from arrogance."

- Stephen Mitchell.

24. "People who make up their minds about something never listen to advice - especially when it's the contrary."

- Steven Erikson.

25. "God save me from fools with a little philosophy - no one is more difficult to reach."

- Epictetus.

26. "Arrogance - The best leaders inspire by example. When that's not an option, brute intimidation works pretty well, too."

- Larry Kersten.

27.  "Arrogance likes to appear humble in public."

- Toba Beta.

28. "Arrogance and rudeness are training wheels on the bicycle of life - for weak people who cannot keep their balance without them."

- Laura Teresa Marquez.

29. "Your heart is the center of humility, your mind could be the source of arrogance."

- Tariq Ramadan.

30. "Arrogance is blind to the stumbling block."

- Toba Beta.

31. "When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken, given views to passion without proper deliberation which alone can secure them from the grossest absurdities."

- David Hume.

32. "Arrogance is a self-defense tactic to disguise insecurities."

- Caroll Michels.

33. "An extraordinary amount of arrogance is present in any claim of having been the first in inventing something."

- Benoit Mandelbrot.

34. "Arrogance is not the prerogative of the gifted."

- Andy Hargreaves.

35. "Arrogance is a creature. It does not have senses. It has only a sharp tongue and the pointing finger."

- Toba Beta.

36. "Confidence is when you believe in yourself and your abilities, arrogance is when you think you are better than others and act accordingly."

- Stewart Stafford.

37. "Arrogant people are insecure, and often repel others. Truly confident people feel good about themselves and attract others to them."

- Christie Hartman.

Humorous Quotes On Arrogance

Arrogance quotes can also be funny and sarcastic. Here's a list of quotes that prove just that.

38. "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."

- Mark Twain.

39. "It's only arrogance if you're wrong."

- Simone de Beauvoir.

40. "The arrogance of some people makes even their virtues appear vices."

- Bouhours.

41. "People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do."

- Isaac Asimov.

42. "I have been called arrogant myself in my time, and hope to earn the title again but to claim that I am privy to the secrets of the universe and its creator - that's beyond my conceit."

- Christopher Hitchens.

43. "Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance."

- Sun Tzu.

44. "Stupidity combined with arrogance and a huge ego will get you a long way."

- Chris Lowe.

45. "There's a thin line between confidence and arrogance. It's called humility. Confidence smiles, arrogance smirks."

- Aagam Shah.

Quotes on Arrogance and Intelligence

Here's a list of quotes on intelligence and arrogance for everyone to enjoy.

46. "Never mistake arrogance for intellect."

- D.B. Harrop.

47. "How can one absolve intelligent men for engaging in arrogant and demented folly?"

- C.R. Strahan.

48. "I would rather lose my intellect than my humility."

- Abhijit Naskar.

49. "It is the great arrogance of the present to forget the intelligence of the past."

- Ken Burns.

50. "Arrogant people are non-learners. They invest their energies in maintaining a cozy feeling of complacency, and complacency is the biggest single enemy to the process of continuously learning from experience."

- Peter Honey.

51. "Don't be arrogant, because arrogance kills curiosity."

- Mina Bissell.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for arrogance quotes then why not take a look at body positivity quotes, or extrovert quotes!

Second Image Editorial credit: Gokul Nedumkunnam / Shutterstock.com

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Written by Georgia Stone

Bachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art

Georgia Stone picture

Georgia StoneBachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art

Georgia is an experienced Content Manager with a degree in French and Film Studies from King's College London and Bachelors degree from Université Paris-Sorbonne. Her passion for exploring the world and experiencing different cultures was sparked during her childhood in Switzerland and her year abroad in Paris. In her spare time, Georgia enjoys using London's excellent travel connections to explore further afield.

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