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arrant

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Complete, utter, or thoroughgoing, typically used pejoratively as in "arrant knave" or "arrant fool" to emphasize someone's despicable qualities without qualification.

Detailed Definition
“Arrant” intensifies nouns with emphatic contempt or certainty, common in Early Modern invective. It signals unambiguous moral or intellectual failure, stripping nuance to emphasize folly or vice. In poetry, it sharpens satire or dramatic insult, as in Shakespearean insults (“arrant knave”). Its alliterative potential and rhythmic stress make it effective in character-driven verse, where clear moral binaries enhance conflict.
Example
Example in poetry:
"An arrant fool stands proud in his folly," quips a Restoration wit; Shakespeare calls Parolles in All’s Well That Ends Well an "arrant knave"; "Arrant cowardice!" thunders the epic hero; In Dryden, "arrant lies" fly from the mouth of a flatterer; "Thou art an arrant thief of hearts," accuses a spurned lover; The arrant hypocrisy of the priest shocked the village.
Additional Notes
“Arrant” intensifies nouns with contempt—e.g., “arrant knave” or “arrant coward”—and originates from “errant” (wandering), implying moral deviation; it’s a rhetorical device in satirical or moralizing verse to underscore hypocrisy or vice.
Also Known As
notorious thorough complete
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