overconfidence

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Canada, US/oʊvɚˈkɑnfɪdənts/Canada, US/ovɚ-/Canada, US/-dɪnts/

noun

An excessive or unwarranted degree of confidence.

Similar
certitudecocksureness
OriginEnglish confidence ← Middle English over- ← Old English ofer- →
UncommonScrabble 25
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Word of the Day · Oct 7, 2026

Meanings

nounoverconfidence (usually uncountable, plural overconfidences)

plural overconfidences

  1. uncountableusuallyAn excessive or unwarranted degree of confidence.

    My case is, as I have told you, almost complete; but we must not err on the side of over-confidence.

    1890 February, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Sherlock Holmes Gives a Demonstration”, in The Sign of Four (Standard Library), London: Spencer Blackett […], →OCLC, page 89
    1 more example

    Yet United may have paid the price for overconfidence as they completely lost their concentration after 10 minutes to let Wolves back in.

    2011 May 2, Chris Whyatt, “Wolverhampton 2 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC

Synonyms & antonyms

nountotal certainty or greater certainty than circumstances warrant

Similar
certitudecocksureness
Broader
certainty
Also see
certitudecocksureness

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úp
  2. Proto-Indo-European*upér
  3. Proto-Germanic*uber
  4. Old Englishofer-
  5. Middle Englishover-
  6. Englishover-
  7. Englishconfidence
  8. Englishoverconfidence

From over- + confidence.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

overconfidence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overconfidence

MLA

“overconfidence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overconfidence. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “overconfidence,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overconfidence.

Source: overconfidence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.