We’ve all met someone who overestimates their importance and exhibits arrogant behavior.
It can be annoying to have to deal with people who are full of themselves. Sometimes, it becomes necessary to remind them of their place in the best saucy way possible.
Looking for a resounding comeback for someone who thinks they are better? There are only a few that can win you a mic drop moment.
If you have to deal with someone who thinks they are better, you can give them a comeback by saying, “If you were half as amazing as you think you are, you’d still be mediocre,” or tell them, “If arrogance is a sign of greatness, you must be a genius.” These retorts should send them on a trip of a reality check and propel them to be humble – as they should.
You can use a few other Comebacks that will sit nicely for different situations and contexts. I will share everything with you in this article and how to use them ideally.
Before we dive in, let me quickly add early enough that self-esteem is essential and even admirable.
But it is a different case when the person feels pompous – talking incisively about themselves and then turning around and dismissing the opinions and achievements of others.
It is normal to get a little tired being around someone with such a distasteful attitude. But a little savvy comeback to put them in their place won’t hurt.
Here are the best Comebacks you want to put in your back pocket for whenever the occasion arises;
How to Respond when someone thinks they are better
While we run through this juicy list of Comebacks for people who feel self-important, we must draw a fine line to separate different contexts.
I, for one, know many of my peers who are better than me in physical activities, reciting song lyrics, or playing a musical instrument. There’s no harm in priding over your proficiency in a sport or activity.
But it becomes uncalled for when the bragging is done to the point of being condescending. At that point, these responses would come in handy:
1. If you were half as amazing as you think you are, you’d still be mediocre
It’s a spectacular irony that in nine out of ten situations, people who think they are better are mediocre.
This is the comeback you need to tell them that will snap them back to reality and make them humble.
The statement may sound offensive without context, but when said to someone who is pompous, you’ll be surprised to see the number of cheers you’d get if you said it amid people.
2. I’m not impressed by your arrogance
Many people think they are better and then make condescending impressions or expressions to that effect only to impress others.
So it’s a mission that failed for them if you make it known that their pompous behavior does not move you.
3. Your ego is writing checks, and your abilities can’t cash.
This is another witty retort to say to someone who thinks they are unique. But it will work well on anyone who feels pompous or full of themselves, especially their prowess in doing something better than others.
The statement means that the person’s ego is high but doesn’t match their capabilities. So they have false regard for themselves and need to be humble.
4. You might want to try a little humility. It looks better on you.
There’s a famous saying that humility is the key that opens doors. Someone who is trapped in their ego and self-pride may never know what opportunities they miss because they feel too ‘big.’
You can say this comeback to someone who thinks they are the almighty.
5. I don’t think you’re better than me; I know you are.
This may not sound like the saucy and savvy comeback that you’d want to give to put someone in their place, but it does have a counterintuitive effect on the person when said.
It’s like reverse psychology but leaning more on sarcasm. It’s an invariable way of saying the person is not halfway as better as you are.
6. Keep trying to convince yourself that you’re better. Maybe one day you’ll believe it.
I love this comeback, mainly because it’s so cool and immediately places you above the person no matter how hard they try to prove that they are better.
After you say this to the person, there’s nothing else the person would try to say that would appear natural. You’ve neutralized their ego.
7. I’ll let you have your delusions of grandeur.
You can be creative about reprimanding someone that is so full of themselves.
You can use this comeback to brilliantly checkmate someone who thinks they are better because, if you think about it, it’s just their thoughts and nothing else.
8. You’d be a genius if being arrogant was a talent.
This is an intelligent way to label their attitude as “beautiful nonsense.” The character they exude is self-esteem gone wrong.
Someone who thinks they are always better tends to exude arrogance because they talk down on others’ achievements which is terrible.
9. Sorry, I don’t speak ‘inflated ego.’
Imagine you’re having a conversation in a group, and one of the members interrupts, then begins to say things to make them feel important while relinquishing others’ input.
You can immediately shut them out by saying, “Sorry, I don’t speak inflated ego, ” just as you’d tell a foreigner, “Sorry, I don’t speak Chinese.”
In this context, inflated ego is the person’s language because that’s the baggage they are dealing with.
10. You’re not better; you’re just louder
Nothing hurts more than being called a loud person. When you think about the proverbial empty barrel that makes the loudest noise, it becomes even more hurtful.
But if that’s what it takes to humble someone who thinks they are better, then so be it.
The next time you have to deal with someone with that attitude, let them know they are not better but are louder.
11. I’m not intimidated by your false confidence.
I got this line from a TV show titled “The Bigger Person.”
It is a comeback that living rent-free in my head becomes handy for many situations where I need to put someone in their place with just a few words.
Remember, the motive of someone who thinks they are better is to make you believe so too. So its mission fails for them when you tell them you’re not intimidated.
12. There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and you’ve crossed it.
Instead of trying to prove that the person is not as better as they think, you can help them paint a mental picture of how delusional they are for thinking they are better than everyone else.
It’s pathetic to think one is better, probably because what they boast about was handed to them on a platter.
Confidence is when you are courageous; arrogance is when you think you are courageous.
13. You might want to step back and evaluate your attitude.
Sometimes, the person needs sheer, subtle advice to help them see the reality and how ridiculous they are to think they are better than everyone else.
Offer them a fresh perspective to see that they are not as good as they think.
It’s not an applaudable attitude to talk down on others’ achievements because you think you have the best stack of records or capabilities. It’s an attitude that they should evaluate.
14. You’re not better; you’re just more obnoxious.
To think one is better than another is to be incredibly obnoxious and detestable.
Talking down on others or feeling pompous at every opportunity is offensive and unpleasant because you feel better.
If you have someone that exudes this attitude, you can tell them, “You’re not better; you’re just more obnoxious.”
15. I don’t have time for your superiority complex.
Superiority complex is the correct label for a person’s attitude if they continuously think they are better.
By saying you don’t have time for them, it immediately places them on the bottom list of your scale of preference, meaning that the person, along with whatever they think, is not as important to you as your personal growth.
16. You’re not as impressive as you think you are.
Sometimes, the best comeback for a person who thinks they are better is simply saying the truth that they won’t like and will wallop them and cold.
If the person feels full of themselves, simply tell them they are not as impressive as they think.
Say it with confidence because that’s the truth.
17. You’re not better; you’re just more insecure.
There’s no comeback as sleek and sassy as telling the truth in the bluntest and most revealing way.
If someone thinks they are better and becomes arrogant, put them in their place by hitting them with reality. They are insecure about their capabilities.
18. I don’t need your validation to feel good about myself.
Someone who thinks they are better can say so to earn validation from others. You can show them that you are not in the same boat as them because, unlike them, you don’t need validation to feel good about yourself.
19. I’m not in competition with you, so there’s no need to act like you’re better.
What’s worse than telling someone, who is hard-bent on proving they are better than you, that you’re not even in their league? It’s a total burn!
20. I’ll stick with being me; you can keep trying to be someone you’re not.
This is another comeback you can tell someone who thinks they are better. It’s an unrealistic, self-serving, and delusional state of mind. Let the person know you don’t subscribe to such.
Final words – Pity them; don’t hate them
Wrapping up, I want you to know that the person who thinks they are better than you are in a pitiful state than a position that requires hatred.
Think about it; if someone had the guys to tell you (or give the impression) that they think they’re better than you, it only means the person is a coward and insecure about their capabilities.
As they consciously try to show their superiority over others, I’d feel sorry for them because it’s a pathetic excuse to try and compensate for their profound lack of self-respect.
So, pity them, don’t hate them.
But that shouldn’t save them from receiving the very retort they need to inspire a change of attitude — for the better.