overconfidence
noun
over·con·fi·dence
ˌō-vər-ˈkän-fə-dən(t)s 
-ˌden(t)s
: an excess of confidence (as in one's abilities or judgment) : confidence that is not justified
warned against overconfidence when investing
People tend to overestimate their skills behind the wheel and underestimate the skills of the boobs and psychopaths driving around them, a phenomenon that psychologists call "optimism bias" and the rest of us simply call delusional overconfidence.—
David H. Freedman
David H. FreedmanExamples of overconfidence in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That success may have led to overconfidence; as the Tinzaouaten incident shows, there are very real security challenges across Mali, and Wagner’s tactics, including indiscriminate violence and targeting civilians, are far from the most effective tools for addressing Mali’s security crises.
—Christopher Michael Faulkner, The Conversation, 9 Aug. 2024
Through a series of studies with more than 1,000 employees from the U.S. and China, researchers shed light on these questions by showing that passion is associated with overconfidence in our own performance.
—Erica R. Bailey,
kai Krautter,
wen Wu,
adam D. Galinsky,
jon M. Jachimowicz, Harvard Business Review, 24 July 2024
This first trail diary is full of overexertion, overconfidence and overexposure in something called the 100-Mile Wilderness.
—Drew Goins, Washington Post, 23 July 2024
This was a mistake of overconfidence on my part, as this was my fourth or fifth time at the summit.
—Rusty Foster, Washington Post, 23 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for overconfidence 
Christopher Michael Faulkner, The Conversation, 9 Aug. 2024
Through a series of studies with more than 1,000 employees from the U.S. and China, researchers shed light on these questions by showing that passion is associated with overconfidence in our own performance.
—Erica R. Bailey,
kai Krautter,
wen Wu,
adam D. Galinsky,
jon M. Jachimowicz, Harvard Business Review, 24 July 2024
This first trail diary is full of overexertion, overconfidence and overexposure in something called the 100-Mile Wilderness.
—Drew Goins, Washington Post, 23 July 2024
This was a mistake of overconfidence on my part, as this was my fourth or fifth time at the summit.
—Rusty Foster, Washington Post, 23 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for overconfidence
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'overconfidence.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Overconfidence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overconfidence. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
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