cocksure

[ kok-shoor, -shur ]

/ ˈkɒkˈʃʊər, -ˈʃɜr /

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adjective

perfectly sure or certain; completely confident in one's own mind: She was cocksure that she was able to do the job better than anyone else.

too certain; overconfident: He was so cocksure he would win the election that he didn't even bother to campaign.

Obsolete. perfectly secure or safe.

OTHER WORDS FOR cocksure

1 cocky, arrogant, conceited.

See synonyms for cocksure on Thesaurus.com

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CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of cocksure

First recorded in 1510–20; cock¹ + sure

OTHER WORDS FROM cocksure

cocksurely, adverbcocksureness, noun

Words nearby cocksure

cockshot, cockshut, cockshy, cockspur, cocksucker, cocksure, cockswain, cocktail, cocktail dress, cocktail glass, cocktail hour

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cocksure in a sentence

We’re seeing a guy that is usually cocksure and confident in New York, in his blood, he’s wearing his own skin, and very sure of not only himself but his surroundings.
Joseph Sikora Talks Tommy Taking The Driver’s Seat For ‘Power Book IV: FORCE’|Rivea Ruff|February 5, 2022|Essence.com
Series lead Joel Kinnaman plays Ed Baldwin, a cocksure astronaut who finds himself facing trial after trial and slowly beginning to buckle under the pressure.
One Good Thing: For All Mankind explores a world where humans lived on the moon — in the 1970s|Emily VanDerWerff|March 19, 2021|Vox
How could they have been so cocksure in the face of so much contrary opinion from seemingly well qualified people?
Iraq: What We Got Wrong and Why|David Frum|March 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Cocksure and unafraid, our protagonist does what he always does: he invites the ghost to dinner.
Don Giovanni in Los Angeles: Mozart Meets the Future|Isabel Wilkinson|May 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST

But like millions of others, I went through phases when I was cocksure I could outsmart the market.
Return of the Day Trader|Lee Eisenberg|April 9, 2009|DAILY BEAST
In the end, the once cocksure president is left struggling to come to grips with reality.
My W and Oliver Stone's|Scott McClellan|October 17, 2008|DAILY BEAST
Aaron Logan didn't like being told what to do, especially by a little cocksure midget.
David Lannarck, Midget|George S. Harney
"We shall see," said Tiler, elated and cocksure, and I freely confess we did see that he was not quite the fool I thought him.
The Passenger from Calais|Arthur Griffiths
Her cocksure intensity could not fail to impress me in my present state of deadness; I listened as if to oracles.
The Book of Susan|Lee Wilson Dodd
About a generation ago scientific men, or some of them at all events, were getting rather cocksure.
The Romance of War Inventions|Thomas W. Corbin
The thought that enraged him was that the banker was so cocksure of himself, his position.
The Fall of a Nation|Thomas Dixon

British Dictionary definitions for cocksure

cocksure

/ (ˌkɒkˈʃʊə, -ˈʃɔː) /

adjective

overconfident; arrogant

Derived forms of cocksure

cocksurely, adverbcocksureness, noun

Word Origin for cocksure

C16: of uncertain origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

cocksure

OTHER WORDS FOR cocksure

Origin of cocksure

OTHER WORDS FROM cocksure

Words nearby cocksure

Words related to cocksure

How to use cocksure in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cocksure

Derived forms of cocksure

Word Origin for cocksure