overconfident
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of overconfident
Explanation
If you're overconfident, you're so sure of yourself that you're pushy and obnoxious. It's important to be confident at a job interview, but if you're overconfident, you may come across as downright rude. There's a fine line between confidence and overconfidence: being confident is attractive and appropriate. When someone seems overconfident, though, they appear to be unrealistically sure of themselves, more arrogant than poised. Overconfident combines the prefix over-, "too much," and confident, from the Latin confidentem, "firmly trusting or self-confident."
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.
They’re all here, and they have as much overconfident swagger as a plucky young star on the Disney Channel.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Ricciardi would like to see some kind of compromise, between passive investors just setting automatic investments and overconfident investors trying to do too much on their own.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 21, 2026
Ontario Christian beat Sage Hill by 32 points in the Southern Section semifinals, but Knights coach Aundre Cummings said his squad will not be overconfident.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 8, 2026
Kapralyk praised those who sign up to fight but worried that many, like Horbenko, were overconfident.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
We had become overconfident, and were reminded that we were facing a serious charge.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
