confident

[ kon-fi-duhnt ]

/ ˈkɒn fɪ dənt /

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adjective

having strong belief or full assurance; sure: confident of fulfillment.

sure of oneself; having no uncertainty about one's own abilities, correctness, successfulness, etc.; self-confident; bold: a confident speaker.

excessively bold; presumptuous.

Obsolete. trustful or confiding.

noun

a confidant.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of confident

1570–80; < Latin confīdent- (stem of confīdēns), present participle of confīdere. See confide, -ent

SYNONYMS FOR confident

1 certain, positive. See sure.

2 self-reliant, assured, intrepid.

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ANTONYMS FOR confident

2 modest, diffident.

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Related forms

con·fi·dent·ly, adverbhy·per·con·fi·dent, adjectivehy·per·con·fi·dent·ly, adverbnon·con·fi·dent, adjective

non·con·fi·dent·ly, adverbqua·si-con·fi·dent, adjectivequa·si-con·fi·dent·ly, adverbsu·per·con·fi·dent, adjectivesu·per·con·fi·dent·ly, adverbul·tra·con·fi·dent, adjectiveun·con·fi·dent, adjectiveun·con·fi·dent·ly, adverb

Can be confusedconfidant confidante confident

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for unconfident

The other end of the same phenomenon is you miss the first throw, you get unconfident, and you miss the second one as well.
Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks: The Science Behind Winning|Clark Merrefield|February 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It's only the weak and unconfident that are threatened by such things.
The Next Year in Media|Rachel Sklar|January 3, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Her standards of right and wrong were shaken; the wholesale assaults on her ideals left her shocked and unconfident.
The City of Delight|Elizabeth Miller

British Dictionary definitions for unconfident

confident

/ (ˈkɒnfɪdənt) /

adjective

(postpositive foll by of) having or showing confidence or certainty; sureconfident of success

sure of oneself; bold

presumptuous; excessively bold

Derived Formsconfidently, adverb

Word Origin for confident

C16: from Latin confīdens trusting, having self-confidence, from confīdere to have complete trust in; see confide

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

Word Origin and History for unconfident

confident

adj.

1570s, "self-reliant, sure of oneself," from Middle French confident, from Latin confidentem (nominative confidens) "firmly trusting, reliant, self-confident, bold, daring," present participle of confidere (see confidence). Related: Confidently.