Arrant

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈæɹənt/

Alternative forms

• arraunt obsolete

Origin

Alteration of errant. Originally meaning wandering (errant), the term came to be an intensifier due to its use as an epithet, e.g. in the phrases "arrant thieves" and "arrant knaves" (i.e., wandering bandits).

OED

Full definition of arrant

Adjective

1. Utter; complete.

1. Alternative spelling of errant
• circa 1600, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, scene 1:We are arrant knaves all; believe none of us.

Usage notes

Particularly used in the phrase “arrant knaves”, quoting Hamlet, and “arrant nonsense”.

Safire, 2006, considers “arrant nonsense” to be “wedded words”, a form of a fixed phrase.

Some dictionaries consider arrant simply an alternative form of errant, but in usage they have long split.

The word has long been considered archaic, may be confused with errant, and is used primarily in clichés, on which basis some recommend against using it.