Skip to main content
cocksure

cocksure

3 8.2
Being too confident in a proud, annoying way
  • adjective
  • /ˈkɑkˌʃʊr/
translation icon : presuntuoso
  • His cocksure attitude often annoyed his friends, as he believed he was always right.
  • so cocksure
  • less cocksure
  • cocksure attitude

But it's like taking a weakness and making it this sort of like cocksure strength to be like, that's that.

Examples

  • Don't be so cocksure of everything, Luke.

  • I hope it will teach you not to be so cocksure in the future.

  • "We're kind of fired up," she says, cocksure and proud.

    Blog text (23)
  • His cocksure attitude, his charm, his talent - they always get him what he wants.

  • Bobby Lee smiles at her, cocksure.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • I wouldn't be so cocksure of everything.

  • It's arrogant, cocksure, and exactly what every fan wants his or her ownership group to say.

    Blog text (5)
  • Not at all the usual pewter-gray skies of London, and I was cocksure and full of myself that day.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • "The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent full of doubt." - Bertrand Russell

    Blog text (13)
  • You could tell the way he'd just strut around, all arms and elbows, you know, all puffed up and cocksure.

Synonyms

arrogant
vscocksure
260 4.5

Behaving as if you are more important or better than other people

places emphasis on firm, often unwarranted certainty rather than dominance
cocky
vscocksure
  • Informal
99 4.2

Being too confident and acting proud so other people dislike you

is more intensely certain and often crosses into presumption
presumptuous
vscocksure
42 8.0

Being too confident and doing things that are not allowed or polite

is centered on excessive certainty about opinions rather than boundary crossing
brash
vscocksure
31 6.6

Very confident in a rude, loud way that annoys other people

expresses arrogant certainty without necessarily being loud or rude
conceited
vscocksure
24 5.4

Thinking you are much better than other people

focuses on excess opinion about self rather than certainty of views
overconfident
vscocksure
19 5.3

To believe you can do more than you really can

adds an arrogant, presumptuous tone beyond mere excess certainty
too big for one's britches
vscocksure
  • Informal
3 9.1

Acting more important than you really are

shows arrogant certainty about opinions rather than merely faking status
hubristic
vscocksure
  • Formal
1 8.4

Being too proud and too sure of yourself so you ignore advice and make bad decisions

is about excessive certainty of opinion rather than pride alone
bumptious
vscocksure
1 9.9

Too confident and rude in a way that annoys other people

is stronger in pushy behavior, while the other denotes certain belief
bigheaded
vscocksure
  • Offensive
1 6.7

Thinking you are better than other people and acting proud

leans more to confident certainty about views than mere self-regard
self-conceited
vscocksure
7.7

Thinking you are better than other people

emphasizes certainty of opinions more than vanity or ego

Antonyms

222 2.8

Not proud and not thinking you are better than others

43 3.9

Not feeling sure or confident

How Confident

arrogant
260 4.5
cocksure
3 8.2
cocky
  • Informal
99 4.2
self-assured
11 4.1
confident
715 2.5

Surface Forms

cocksure positive

Morphology

cocksure = cock + sure (opaque) = cock + sure

The word 'cocksure' combines 'cock' and 'sure', but the specific meaning of excessive confidence is not directly derivable from the components.

Etymology

Cocksure comes from cock ('rooster') and sure ('certain'), creating the image of a rooster proudly walking around as if it knows everything. That's why cocksure means being very confident in a way that can seem arrogant.