overconfidence

American  

[oh-ver-kon-fi-duhns] / ˈoʊ vərˈkɒn fɪ dəns /

noun

1. the quality of having an unrealistically high opinion of one’s own judgment, ability, powers, etc..

   Underestimating the enemy can induce laziness and encourage overconfidence.

   Psychologists have determined that overconfidence causes people to overestimate their ability to control events and underestimate risks.

---

Etymology

Origin of overconfidence

over- ( def. ) + confidence ( def. )

Explanation

Overconfidence is what you've got when you're more sure of yourself than you should be. In a chess tournament, overconfidence might lead your opponent to underestimate you — which means you'll take her completely by surprise when you trounce her. Confidence is a good quality. It means you are secure and believe in yourself. Overconfidence, on the other hand, means you feel certain about your abilities or eventual success in situations that are not so clear-cut. Your overconfidence might mean you fail your driving test, for example, because you're so sure you're a great driver that you don't practice parallel parking.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

overconfidence

He also developed what he calls the adaptive markets hypothesis, which uses the principles of evolution to explain behaviors such as loss aversion and overconfidence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026

Warsh’s distaste for overconfidence in models and technocratic expertise has also held throughout his career.

From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026

The seat then contained the Labour stronghold of Harlow, but an energetic campaign, coupled with the overconfidence of the sitting Labour MP, saw Tebbit victorious in 1970.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2025

When someone else’s behavior seems truly inexplicable or evil, even, I can pinpoint, “Oh, that is just overconfidence bias at play” in the same way that I noticed overconfidence bias in my own behavior.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2024

It was an error of a commander’s overconfidence, small in history, large in the lives of those men.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Related Words

• cockiness
• disrespect