Arrant

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈæɹ(ə)nt/

Definitions

1. Being utterly and conspicuously bad or wrong in nature
2. Complete and blatant in being bad or wrong with no excuse or justification
3. Showing a level of negativity that is total and unmistakable in nature

Etymology: Arrant began as a plain description of motion. Its source, Latin "errare", meant to wander or rove, and the present participle "errans" meant straying or wandering. Old French turned that into "errant", a word for someone travelling about, often a knight on a quest. English took it up as "errant" and, in the Middle Ages, the spelling "arrant" also appeared, although the two forms were understood as one word. The change in meaning came from who was doing the wandering. People described as errant were often disreputable vagabonds, so phrases like "arrant knave" and "arrant thief" grew up, with the wandering sense fading into the idea of being a thoroughly bad specimen. Over time "arrant" lost its connection to travel and became a strong intensifier meaning "complete" or "downright", and then a negative word meaning "very bad" or "despicable".

Synonyms: absolute, utter, complete, thorough, thoroughgoing

Antonyms: partial, incomplete, limited