overconfident

adjective

over·​con·​fi·​dent ˌō-vər-ˈkän-fə-dənt How to pronounce overconfident (audio)
-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

Examples of overconfident in a Sentence

the overconfident quarterback made some careless decisions that cost him the game
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Republicans, with their congenitally overconfident candidate and an entire political operation premised on telling the Republican electorate that Trump’s defeat is literally impossible, have a different problem. Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024 Generally, men tend to be overconfident investors, whereas women generally are more risk-aware and tend to hold onto their investments, according to Green. Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 2 Nov. 2024 Other patients are overconfident, which could lead to injuries. Matt Fuchs, TIME, 24 Oct. 2024 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 See all Example Sentences for overconfident 

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1617, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of overconfident was circa 1617

Dictionary Entries Near overconfident

Cite this Entry

“Overconfident.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overconfident. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

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