overconfident

adjective

over·​con·​fi·​dent ˌō-vər-ˈkän-fə-dənt 

-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

Synonyms

• audacious
• brash
• daredevil
• foolhardy
• madcap
• overbold
• reckless
• temerarious

Examples of overconfident in a Sentence

the overconfident quarterback made some careless decisions that cost him the game

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s also the risk that overconfident computer scientists, who have helped advance the field of AI, start to see AI work being awarded Nobel Prizes in unrelated scientific fields—in this instance, physics and chemistry—and decide to follow in their footsteps, encroaching on other people’s turf. —Chris Stokel-Walker, WIRED, 9 Oct. 2024

Those high on grandiosity seek admiration, are usually dominating and overconfident, fantasize about perfection, and tend to have high self-esteem. —Joy Emeh, Health, 9 Sep. 2024

Overall, finding policy solutions for highly capable open-source AI is a complex issue, but the threshold of risks vs. benefits should be decided through a democratic process, not based on the whims of whichever AI company is most reckless or overconfident. —Yoshua Bengio, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2024

Acting arrogant, overconfident or self-promotional can alienate interviewers. —Jack Kelly, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1617, in the meaning defined above