Standard Lemma guide

cocksure

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

adj

Meaning 1

Too confident; overconfident.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

marked by excessive confidence

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • an arrogant and cocksure materialist
  • so overconfident and impudent as to speak to the queen
  • the less he knows the more positive he gets

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: overconfident, positive

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Probably from cock (“rooster”) + sure, early 16th c.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: самонадеян (samonadejan) — overconfident
  • Bulgarian: наперен (naperen) — overconfident
  • Chinese Cantonese: 串 (cyun3) — overconfident
  • Chinese Mandarin: 自負 /自负 (zìfù) — overconfident
  • Finnish: itsevarma — overconfident
  • Polish: pewny siebie — overconfident
  • Russian: самоуве́ренный (samouvérennyj) — overconfident
  • Vietnamese: kiêu ngạo — overconfident