as in wise
displaying or marked by rude boldness
a cocky young actor who thought that he was God's gift to the theater
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Recent Examples of cocky
The Pacers, who are young and fast and talented and cocky and on some heater themselves, think this is their time.
—
Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 20 May 2025
Ellie is a typical teen: cocky and defiant at times, painfully self-conscious at others.
—Noel Murray, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
Stringing episodes together, screenwriter Anderson (working from a story co-created by Roman Coppola) treats Korda as a cocky survivor of fabulous riches.
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2025
He’s joined by elder statesman Randall (Steve Carell), idealistic AI expert Jeff (Ramy Youssef) and the richest of them all: Ven (Cory Michael Smith), a clear Elon Musk analogue who rules over his social media empire with a cocky bravado.
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for cocky
Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 20 May 2025
Ellie is a typical teen: cocky and defiant at times, painfully self-conscious at others.
—Noel Murray, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
Stringing episodes together, screenwriter Anderson (working from a story co-created by Roman Coppola) treats Korda as a cocky survivor of fabulous riches.
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2025
He’s joined by elder statesman Randall (Steve Carell), idealistic AI expert Jeff (Ramy Youssef) and the richest of them all: Ven (Cory Michael Smith), a clear Elon Musk analogue who rules over his social media empire with a cocky bravado.
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for cocky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cocky
Adjective
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In hindsight that decision may not have been the wisest.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
5 July 2025
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Demonstrating a talent for working in fluent french peppered with a british accent, the actor delivers one of his most indelible acting turns as the sly, wry, and wise business mogul-turned- butler who finds new purpose in life working on the other side of the fence.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
3 July 2025
Adjective
-
No brand should be so cocksure as to presume its products are irreplaceable.—
Cate Rubenstein,
Rolling Stone,
11 Jan. 2023
-
Nayeri’s demeanor — usually cocksure — became unhinged.—
Tim Dickinson,
Rolling Stone,
17 Dec. 2022
Adjective
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One’s insolent, calling him lame and old, and the other affectedly infantile, but both are exhausting in their own way.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2025
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The government, in an insolent filing on Sunday evening, rewrote that instruction.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
From the front seat, Rihanna turned around and snapped a few photos of the backseat, where Riot gave his mother a sassy stare, and RZA kept his face hidden behind a French workbook.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
3 July 2025
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And in a company which faithfully recreates stiff 18th-century acting conventions, McCormack’s unapologetically sassy Semira was a welcome change of pace, drawing the afternoon’s biggest laughs.—
Hannah Edgar,
Chicago Tribune,
28 June 2025
Adjective
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First, there are highly vocal AI luminaires making individualized brazen predictions.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
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The brazen corruption that pervaded St. Paul’s police force in 1935 didn’t spring up overnight.—
Nick Woltman,
Twin Cities,
28 June 2025
Adjective
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Gemma reluctantly agrees to rebuild her impudent robot in a new body, and the sequel ends with an explosive showdown between Amelia and M3GAN, who nearly dies in a noble attempt to save Gemma and her niece, Cady (Violet McGraw).—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
29 June 2025
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One chord appears to speak to the other, sounding almost impudent in their simplicity, equal parts ecstatic and heartbreakingly melancholic.—
Sam Davies,
Rolling Stone,
10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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One bold young woman lay on the ground and put her feet up, wide apart.—
Zadie Smith,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
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The Hershey Company, known as a confectionery giant, is transforming itself into a snacking powerhouse through savvy acquisitions, bold brand building, and strategic retail partnerships.—
Shelley E. Kohan,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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That journey includes a flirtation with steely race engineer Kate McKenna (Condon, 42) and push-back from brash teammate Joshua Pearce (Idris, 33).—
Marco della Cava,
USA Today,
27 June 2025
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However, internal conflict between the brash younger generation and the old-school leadership threatens to set a match to this powder keg, which will sweep the Westies into the FBI’s ever-deepening investigation into the Italian mafia.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
24 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cocky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cocky. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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