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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Washington eventually adopted more sensible approaches that mobilized the resources of key allies, developed a wiser balance between conventional and nuclear tools, and assumed a less confrontational attitude toward Moscow.—
JENNIFER LIND,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
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Those who are successful in the job market learn how to embrace tradeoffs to make wise choices.—
Michael B. Horn,
Time,
24 June 2025
Adjective
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No brand should be so cocksure as to presume its products are irreplaceable.—
Cate Rubenstein,
Rolling Stone,
11 Jan. 2023
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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
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The sassy show about a haunted house in San Diego was hilarious and jump-out-of-your-seat spooky.—
Leslie Kelly,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
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That wasn't strange in itself—she'd spent the morning dancing around the living room to music and was her usual energetic, sassy self.—
Christopher Hale,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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Murder by Death District Music Hall, 71 Wall St., Norwalk The Indiana indie rock band Murder by Death, which features a cello in its lineup and a lot of brazen musical ideas, is calling it quits after a quarter century.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
21 June 2025
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Such perspectives make Wax’s Izzy a multi-layered and often contradictory character: self-assured, yet also self-doubting; brazen, yet guilty; fearless, yet also fearful.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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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
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In short, Moscow sees Montenegro as both strategically valuable and an impudent upstart that has thumbed its nose at the Russian bear while genuflecting before NATO and Washington.—
Edward P. Joseph,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Dec. 2016
Adjective
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Questions about a bold agenda In public appearances, Kennedy has outlined what experts describe as an ambitious agenda to overhaul how the U.S. evaluates chemicals, particularly in the realm of food and some consumer products.—
Will Stone,
NPR,
18 June 2025
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In the store, the seasonal collection is presented against vintage floral wallpaper, while the more modern bold blue wall opposite frames Les Essentiels, including a range of denim.—
Rhonda Richford,
Footwear News,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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Douglas and Trump also notably crossed paths in 2010 when the president was a famously brash New York City real estate developer and reality TV star.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
13 June 2025
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As we’re reminded — or taught — more or less immediately in the opera, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin (soprano Jasmine Habersham), brainy and brash in equal measure, was actually the first arrested for refusing to give up her seat to white bus riders, in 1955.—
Hannah Edgar,
Chicago Tribune,
7 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cocky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cocky. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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