We all have at least one arrogant person in our lives. They can sometimes ruin your day with their snotty attitude. Arrogant people feel superior to others; however, they are nothing special or different than everyone else. The way you respond to these people will affect your peace of mind. Arrogant people have similar personality traits with those who have narcissistic personality disorder, such as the following:
- they believe they are special and unique and the only ones who can understand them are other special or high-status people
- they require excessive admiration
- they have a sense of entitlement such as unreasonable expectations of a favorable treatment according to their expectations
- they are interpersonally exploitative; they often use others to get what they want
- they lack empathy and are unwilling to recognize with the emotions of others
- they show snobbish and pompous behavior
These are 9 excellent comebacks for dealing with arrogant people
1. Now what makes you say that?
This will make the arrogant person think about the generalization, stereotype or identify the rationale of what they just said. This can make them realize that their statement was negative and it required a question, which stops once they are called out on the way they behave or speak.
2. Ouch!
Arrogant people often hurt each other’s feelings and saying this short and simple word will let them be more aware of how insensitive they are regardless of whether they are hurting you or someone else.
3. You know my mother is___, right?
Arrogant people often talk about groups of people and like to talk about negative stereotypes. This is because they enjoy putting others down in order to make themselves look better. This can quickly be stopped if you let them know you or someone close to you is ‘involved’ in the stereotypes they are talking about and they will realize they are directly insulting you which will never be tolerated.
4. Are you aware that there are other points of view?
Everyone has the right to their own opinion, but arrogant people should learn that their negative opinion does not always hold true just because it is their opinion.
5. Tell me again why you are superior to ___?
As we previously mentioned, arrogant people think they are better than others, but ask them to explain why that is. They could give interesting answers, but it is more likely for them to get very uncomfortable because this question actually tells them that you don’t consider them superior to the person they talked about.
6. I would appreciate it if those were the final words you say on this topic.
Arrogant people are rude and you can end such conversation the same way they started it. This comeback will put an end on their bad words, however you need to let them know even more obviously like the following comeback, because arrogant people love to hear themselves talk.
7. You need to stop talking now!
You can just leave the room when having an unpleasant conversation with an arrogant person, but telling this sentence will give them something to think about. It might not have any effect on them, however you should never let them disturb your inner peace.
8. I’m sure you didn’t mean for that to sound so arrogant, right?
This question is wrapped with good intentions, because it gives the rude person to take back what they said and apologize for sounding rude. It also shows that you don’t want to play their game of belittling others.
9. Do you realize how arrogant you sound when you say things like that?
Calling out on an arrogant person’s behavior is not always what we want to do, but when the conversation becomes too unbearable, feel free to do so. According to psychologists who study personality traits: ‘Modest people are not preoccupied with themselves; arrogant people have an inflated view of themselves.’ Arrogance is often associated with being manipulative with others in social situations.