Antonyms – Choose the word that is OPPOSITE in meaning to the highlighted word. Sentence: They took note of the humility of the visiting dignitary. Target word: humility

Introduction / Context:
Humility denotes modesty and a lack of pride. When audiences comment on a dignitary's humility, they highlight the person's refusal to boast or behave haughtily. The antonym must encode prideful overestimation of self and a superior manner.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Target word: humility.
• Sentence context: public behavior of an important visitor.
• Opposite trait sought.

Concept / Approach:
The clearest antonym of humility is arrogance, which denotes an exaggerated sense of one's importance. Other choices either refer to unrelated qualities or to social virtues that are not opposites of modesty.

Step-by-Step Solution:
1) Map humility to modesty and low self emphasis.2) Identify contrary: arrogance = haughtiness, prideful bearing.3) Eliminate distractors that do not oppose humility.4) Select arrogance.

Verification / Alternative check:
Consider common collocations: humble vs arrogant leaders. This pair appears in leadership writing and ethics literature as direct opposites.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• grandeur: scale or magnificence, not a personality opposite.
• friendliness: sociability, orthogonal to humility.
• decency: moral propriety, not the inverse of modesty.

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing grandeur of ceremony with arrogance of person; the sentence evaluates the individual's trait, not the event's scale.

Final Answer:
arrogance