Proud & Arrogant: English Vocabulary List

a type of unfriendly behavior that is meant to show that one is better than other people

"He has his nose in air."

"She walks around with her nose in the air, acting like she is superior to everyone."

a sense of high self-esteem or self-importance that one has

"He got a swelled head."

"After receiving so much praise, the young musician developed a swelled head and became arrogant."

to behave in a way that makes others think one is more important or of higher status than one actually is

"He puts on airs since getting rich."

"Since she inherited some money she has started putting on airs and refuses to speak to her old friends from school."

one's arrogant and pretentious behavior that is meant to prove one's superiority over others

"She gets off her high horse and apologizes."

"She climbed down from her high horse and admitted that she had been wrong about the issue."

used to describe someone who takes too much pride or satisfaction in their achievements

"He is as proud as Lucifer."

"She was as proud as Lucifer when she showed everyone her expensive new car last weekend."

an action that makes one feel more important than others

"His speech was a total ego trip."

"His speech was a total ego trip and he spent the whole time talking about his own achievements."

used to describe someone who has an excessively high opinion of themselves

"He is as proud as a peacock."

"The actor was as proud as a peacock after winning the award for best performance."

used for saying that a person looks extremely satisfied, happy, or proud because of something they have done or achieved

"She looked like the cat that got the canary."

"After winning the competition he smiled like the cat that got the canary and would not stop bragging about his victory."

to fail to achieve success by having too much confidence in one's ability or position

"The politician overplayed his hand."

"The union overplayed its hand by asking for too much and ended up with nothing at all."

behaving in a manner that highlights one's often non-existant superiority over others

"That child is too big for his britches."

"The young apprentice has become too big for his britches and thinks he knows more than the experienced workers."

someone who considers themselves more important than others and often behaves in a very formal and old-fashioned way

"The manager is a stuffed shirt who never cracks a joke."

"The stuffed shirt at the country club looked down on anyone with less money than him."

to boost or satisfy one's sense of self-importance or self-esteem

"She likes to stroke his ego."

"The manager tried to stroke his ego by praising him in front of everyone at the meeting."

to take pride in one's deeds or achievements

"She holds her head up high."

"After winning the competition, she held her head up high and smiled at everyone around her."