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Synonyms

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. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When the market mob is too greedy, or too afraid—and that is the essence of a huge move, up or down—options-centric investors look to buy on fear and sell on overconfidence.

From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026

New Year’s resolutions may be the most widespread behavioral experiment ever attempted—a great unsupervised trial in overconfidence.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 30, 2025

The main pluses humans have going for them are their overconfidence and yearning to manipulate anything and anyone they can for their own ends.

From Salon • Sep. 24, 2025

The only blot was a touch of overconfidence for his dismissal, falling to Abhishek after striking back-to-back boundaries off the left-arm spinner.

From BBC • Jan. 25, 2025

I’m not the kind of person who’s prone to premonitions or overconfidence, so I suspected that there was more to my flash than magical thinking.

From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.