Arrant vs Downright - What's the difference?
arrant | downright | Synonyms |
Utter; complete.
* circa 1600 , (William Shakespeare), (Hamlet) , scene 1:
Directed vertically; coming straight down.
Directly to the point; plain; unambiguous; unevasive.
Using plain direct language; accustomed to express opinions directly and bluntly; blunt.
Complete; absolute; utter.
Really; actually; quite; thoroughly; utterly.
Straight down; perpendicularly.
Without delay; at once.
* Arbuthnot
As adjectives the difference between arrant and downright
is that arrant is utter; complete while downright is directed vertically; coming straight down.As an adverb downright is
really; actually; quite; thoroughly; utterly.arrant
English
Alternative forms
* (l) (obsolete)Adjective
(er)- arrant nonsense!'' Thomas Bennet, A Brief History of the Joint Use of Recompos'd Set Forms of Prayer...to wich is annexed a Discourse of the Gost of Prayer],
p. 187
- 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 since split. The word has long been considered archaic, may be confused with errant, and is used primarily in , on which basis some recommend against using it.References
arrant/errant”, Common Errors in English Usage, Paul Brians *
On Language: Arrant Nonsense, (William Safire), January 22, 2006, (New York Times) * Merriam–Webster’s dictionary of English usage, 1995,
“errant, arrant”, pp. 406–407
downright
English
Adjective
(en adjective)Synonyms
* (l)Derived terms
* (l)Adverb
(-)- He wasn't just cool to me, he was downright rude.
- She fell downright into a fit.