overconfident

adjective

over·​con·​fi·​dent ˌō-vər-ˈkän-fə-dənt How to pronounce overconfident (audio)
-ˌdent
: excessively or unjustifiably confident : having too much confidence (as in one's abilities or judgment)
an overconfident driver
wasn't overconfident about their chances of winning
… he often starts cold, missing a few shots, allowing his opponent to get on a roll, to get overconfident.Brett Forrest
overconfidently adverb
overconfidently predicted the team would win

Examples of overconfident in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The interception is the first turnover of the game. 25d ago / 4:35 PM PST Bay Area law enforcement already bracing for 49ers win David K. Li This might be about 50% prudent and 50% overconfident. NBC News, 29 Jan. 2024 The beloved Netflix reality show, which pits overconfident home chefs against each other in hilarious competitions to see who can create the least-terrible concoction, is spawning a spin-off that attempts to set its hapless bakers up for success. Ashley Boucher, EW.com, 17 July 2023 Russia, in contrast, fumbled: a big, arrogant, and lumbering bear, overconfident of a rapid victory. Mick Ryan, Foreign Affairs, 5 Feb. 2024 So there’s always a risk that Cruise's and Waymo’s leaders will become overconfident the way Uber’s leaders did five years ago. Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, 1 June 2023 The Ravens would go in enormously confident but not overconfident given their divisional round stumbles in 2019 and 2020. Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 8 Jan. 2024 Read up and pay attention Don’t be cowed by the criminals’ incessant attempts – or be overconfident. Michael Laris, Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2023 Anthony Gash said the team came into the El Camino game overconfident. Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2023 People became overconfident in the chatbot’s results. Paige McGlauflin, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'overconfident.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1617, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of overconfident was circa 1617

Dictionary Entries Near overconfident

Cite this Entry

“Overconfident.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overconfident. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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