Overconfidences

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An excess of self-assurance that can lead to misjudgment or recklessness in decision-making
2. A tendency to place unwarranted trust in one's abilities or understanding, often resulting in mistakes
3. A state where an individual exhibits an inflated sense of personal competence, leading to possible errors and overestimations of outcomes

Etymology: The plural "overconfidences" is simply the countable form of "overconfidence," used when people speak of particular instances or kinds of excessive self-trust. The base word is a plain compound: "over-" is the prefix meaning "too much, beyond," and "confidence" comes from the Latin "confidentia," from "confidere," meaning "to trust fully." Combining them produces a word meaning trust placed beyond what is warranted. The prefix has a long pedigree. Its ancestor is the Old English "ofer," which carried the sense of "above" or "across," and that spatial meaning gradually gave way to the sense of excess that makes "over-" useful in words like this one. The idea of "too much" grew out of the idea of "going above the mark" rather than being a separate development.

Synonyms: hubris, overconfidence

Antonyms: self-doubt, humility