Overweening

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əʊvəˈwiːnɪŋ/

Definitions

1. Excessively confident and arrogant behavior may lead to underestimating others and results in unwarranted pride or domination
2. One exhibits an inflated sense of self-importance and entitlement, often disregarding the capabilities or feelings of others
3. A disposition characterized by hubris and excessive self-esteem can result in disregard for limitations and overstepping boundaries

Etymology: "Overweening" is built from "overween," a Middle English verb meaning to think too highly of oneself, presumably by way of "over-" plus a verb "ween," which once meant to suppose or expect. So the word's core idea is literally thinking beyond what is reasonable, and the "-ing" ending turns the verb into an adjective describing someone who behaves that way. The adjective has a close relative in the Dutch languages. Obsolete Dutch "overwanig" and "overwaand" carried the same sense of presumptuous, cocky, or conceited, which suggests the word belonged to a shared Low German and Dutch vocabulary of overreaching self-regard before it entered English. Its meaning has stayed remarkably steady: where modern speakers use it for arrogance or presumption, it still describes a self-confidence that has run past its proper limits.

Synonyms: arrogant, conceited, hubristic

Antonyms: humble, modest