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
Matthews too recalled Salamone as abrasive and cocky.
—
J.c. Hallman, Oklahoma Watch, 13 Jan. 2026
That album was all about funk, swagger, and celebration, with Mars positioning himself as the lovable, slightly cocky entertainer bringing the good times.
—Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 7 Jan. 2026
Marty Supreme follows a wildly gifted, unapologetically cocky aspiring table tennis superstar named Marty Mauser (Chalamet), grinding it in Lower Manhattan circa 1952.
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 7 Jan. 2026
As a rule, cornerbacks are a cocky bunch and thus good at pressers.
—Kevin Sherrington, Dallas Morning News, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cocky
J.c. Hallman, Oklahoma Watch, 13 Jan. 2026
That album was all about funk, swagger, and celebration, with Mars positioning himself as the lovable, slightly cocky entertainer bringing the good times.
—Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 7 Jan. 2026
Marty Supreme follows a wildly gifted, unapologetically cocky aspiring table tennis superstar named Marty Mauser (Chalamet), grinding it in Lower Manhattan circa 1952.
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 7 Jan. 2026
As a rule, cornerbacks are a cocky bunch and thus good at pressers.
—Kevin Sherrington, Dallas Morning News, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cocky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cocky
Adjective
-
Straight men are just catching up, vanity-wise, and political opportunists have eagerly fed into their insecurities.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The obvious comparison would be Lily Allen’s West End Girl, another heartbreak concept album that captured the public imagination by aiming big, narrative-wise, stretching out the story song by song.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Beane was so cocksure Allen’s solo act would work again that the GM made only minor moves to improve the offense.—
Tim Graham,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Set on a white-run construction site in West Africa, the story follows an edgy foreman anxiously awaiting his bride, whose presence meets resistance from a cocksure engineer clinging to the hyper-masculine status quo.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Malinin’s confidence would be insolent if his acrobatics weren’t so astonishing.—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
1 Feb. 2026
-
The fox would once have crushed this insolent creature with a swipe of her paw.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
19 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
My sweet sparkly sassy silly sunshine girl!—
Christina Perrier,
InStyle,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Both cats share a sassy, bold personality.—
Ryan Brennan
March 4,
Miami Herald,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
If anything, the regime is more defiant, belligerent, and brazen, determined to prevail at any cost.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Authorities say the scheme became more brazen as time went on with at least $510 million worth of Super Micro Computer's servers being diverted to China after their assembly in the United States.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
His first goal was pretty enough, an inch-perfect sidefoot just inside Donnarumma’s far post, but his second was a work of impudent art.—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
11 Mar. 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
The series introduced audiences to a bold new group of characters, welcomed familiar faces, and expanded the Star Trek universe in exciting new ways.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Mar. 2026
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Celebrate, manifest or recharge your aura with a candle that's playful, bold and a little too accurate.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The title track on Your Favorite Toy is brash and snarky and full of fuzzy vocals.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
23 Mar. 2026
-
By then, Pahlavi was surrounded by a younger entourage of analysts and advisers, some of whom were brash figures once associated with the country’s reformist student movement.—
Azadeh Moaveni,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cocky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cocky. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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