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
Since his days as the cocky but lovable Shane Gray in Camp Rock, Joe Jonas has carved out a multifaceted career.
—
Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Sep. 2025
Vinnie Barbarino Was a Standout John Travolta’s Vinnie was known for his cocky swagger and flirtatious antics.
—Marc Berman, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Compliments find you with greater ease, too; with Venus, your planetary ruler, now in Leo, your magnetism is louder and your confidence reads as warm, not cocky.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 7 Sep. 2025
Thanks to its partnership with Microsoft, resulting in near total control of PC chips throughout the 1990s, Intel got cocky.
—Tiana Lowe Doescher, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cocky
Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Sep. 2025
Vinnie Barbarino Was a Standout John Travolta’s Vinnie was known for his cocky swagger and flirtatious antics.
—Marc Berman, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Compliments find you with greater ease, too; with Venus, your planetary ruler, now in Leo, your magnetism is louder and your confidence reads as warm, not cocky.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 7 Sep. 2025
Thanks to its partnership with Microsoft, resulting in near total control of PC chips throughout the 1990s, Intel got cocky.
—Tiana Lowe Doescher, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cocky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cocky
Adjective
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Or similarly, users pointing out that the Ratliff children, when seated three abreast, resemble the three wise monkeys of see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Up in the balcony, even Statler and Waldorf have stopped cracking wise.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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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
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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
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Beautiful, not perfect; Alex can be rude, insolent, and subject to wild emotional swings and failures of decorum and logic.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Aug. 2025
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The movie’s startling originality is in its spirit, its insolent ironies.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
30 July 2025
Adjective
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This retired firefighter and bomb tech rose from the flames stronger, sassier, and ready to find a spark that lasts.—
Jason Pham,
StyleCaster,
5 Nov. 2025
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Fanning, too, is quirky and broadly likable and very much at home as a sassy sci-fi lead, even when working from an overly cute script.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Iran woke up over the weekend to dramatic scenes of US forces landing in the Venezuelan capital Caracas to capture Tehran’s ally President Nicolas Maduro and move him to the US in a brazen nighttime operation that saw the president and his wife get dragged out of their bedroom.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
7 Jan. 2026
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Whenever the president floated some bizarre policy idea, issued a new threat, or told a brazen lie about the state of the economy, Hassett would be one of the first people on cable news justifying it.—
Rogé Karma,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
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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Fortunately, Snow White’s newfound enlightenment does not deny her the possibility of romance, although princes are now strictly off-limits; her love interest here is a fetchingly impudent bandit, Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), who is leading a scrappy rebellion against the Evil Queen.—
Justin Chang,
The New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Calf & Pony Hair The sleek, tactile surface of pony hair adds a bold edge to any accessory, creating a striking contrast in bags, hats, and footwear.—
Cortne Bonilla,
Vogue,
9 Nov. 2025
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Simone’s performance is mesmerizing—bold, vulnerable, and transformative.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Despite his short and stocky appearance, garnering comparisons to a fire plug, La Guardia was loud and brash.—
Mo Rocca,
CBS News,
4 Jan. 2026
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While Perfidia is loud, brash, emotional, reckless, and boisterous, Deandra is methodical, focused, and intentional.—
Kathleen Newman-Bremang,
Refinery29,
30 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cocky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cocky. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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