over-confident
Definition
- Adjective:
- Excessively confident: "over-confident" describes a state of being too confident; having an unrealistic belief in one's own abilities, knowledge, or success, often leading to poor judgment or risk-taking.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- He was over-confident about passing the exam without studying. (He believed too strongly in his ability to succeed without preparation.)
- The team's over-confident attitude led to their defeat in the final match. (Their excessive self-assurance caused them to underestimate the opponent.)
Advanced Usage
"to be over-confident in one's own abilities": to have an inflated sense of personal competence.
- She was over-confident in her ability to fix the car, but she made it worse. (She overestimated her mechanical skills.)
"over-confident behaviour": actions driven by excessive self-assurance.
- His over-confident behaviour during negotiations alienated the other party. (His arrogant actions hurt the discussion.)
Variants and Related Words
Overconfidence (n): the state or quality of being over-confident.
- His overconfidence caused him to ignore important warnings. (His excessive self-assurance led to a mistake.)
Overconfidently (adv): in a manner that shows excessive confidence.
- She overconfidently claimed she could finish the project in one day. (She spoke with too much self-assurance.)
Synonyms
- Arrogant: having an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities.
- Cocky: informal term for being overly self-assured, often in a brash way.
Related Idioms
To have too much confidence: a direct phrase describing over-confidence.
- He has too much confidence in his ability to win the lottery. (He is unrealistically optimistic.)
To bite off more than one can chew: to take on a task that is too difficult because of over-confidence.
- She bit off more than she could chew by agreeing to manage three projects at once. (Her over-confidence led to taking on too much.)