orgulous
adjective
Did you know?
"In Troy, there lies the scene. From Isles of Greece / The princes orgulous, their high blood chaf'd, / Have to the port of Athens sent their ships." Thus William Shakespeare begins the Trojan War tale Troilus and Cressida, employing orgulous, a colorful word first adopted in the 13th century from Anglo-French orguillus. After the Bard's day, orgulous dropped from sight for 200 years; there is no record of its use until it was rejuvenated by the pens of Robert Southey and Sir Walter Scott in the early 1800s. 20th-century authors (including James Joyce and W. H. Auden) continued its renaissance, and it remains an elegant (if infrequent) choice for today's writers.
Word History
Middle English, from Anglo-French orguillus, from orguil pride, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German urguol distinguished
13th century, in the meaning defined above
orgulous
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- narcissistic
- vainglorious
- hubristic
- self-affected
- egocentric
- self-pleased
- smug
- boastful
- cocky
- braggart
- complacent
- self-applauding
- egoistic
- egotistic
- egotistical
- bombastic
- swaggering
- egoistical
- bragging
- conceited
- blustery
- vain
- blusterous
- prideful
- proud
- snobbish
- snooty
- self-complacent
- self-satisfied
- uninhibited
- self-centered
- self-conceited
- braggy
- saucy
- impudent
- self-flattering
- snobby
- toplofty
- stuck-up
- dominant
- brash
- self-loving
- huffish
- unreserved
- toploftical
- forward
- self-promoting
- extroverted
- magisterial
- immodest
- condescending
- impertinent
- cavalier
- patronizing
- authoritarian
- arrogant
- haughty
- bossy
- supercilious
- pontifical
- pompous
- superior
- uppity
- domineering
- extraverted
- dominating
- disdainful
- pontificating
- uppish
- pretentious
- presumptuous
- chesty
- bumptious
- assumptive
- important
- masterful
- huffy
- overweening
- hifalutin
- presuming
- sniffy
- high-and-mighty
- lordly
- high-hat
- peremptory
- imperious
- highfalutin
- high-handed
- lofty
- self-assertive
- stiff-necked
- self-asserting
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- modest
- humble
- unpretentious
- lowly
- shrinking
- unarrogant
- overmodest
- timid
- sheepish
- passive
- subdued
- shy
- bashful
- mousy
- introverted
- demure
- diffident
- meek
- compliant
- deferential
- unobtrusive
- unassuming
- submissive
- yielding
- unaggressive
- unassertive
- quiet
- acquiescent
- mousey
- retiring
- self-critical
- cowering
- reserved
- cringing
- self-doubting