overconfidence

noun

over·​con·​fi·​dence ˌō-vər-ˈkän-fə-dən(t)s 

-ˌden(t)s

: an excess of confidence (as in one's abilities or judgment) : confidence that is not justified

warned against overconfidence when investing

People tend to overestimate their skills behind the wheel and underestimate the skills of the boobs and psychopaths driving around them, a phenomenon that psychologists call "optimism bias" and the rest of us simply call delusional overconfidence.

—David H. Freedman

Examples of overconfidence in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When price action is crisp and the fundamental story solid, the main hazards become overconfidence and overvaluation that can result from an over-extrapolation of positive macro trends. —Michael Santoli, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2026

That posture strengthens hardliners inside Cuba and invites overconfidence outside it. —Ricardo Torres, Time, 8 Jan. 2026

Told in direct in introspective prose, Hjorth is able to conjure the creaky overconfidence of adolescence and all its uncertainties. —Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026

People who felt powerful accepted more risk and exhibited more overconfidence, leading to greater financial losses in laboratory games. —Caleb Pomeroy, Foreign Affairs, 24 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1622, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overconfidence

• confidence