as in wise
displaying or marked by rude boldness
a cocky young actor who thought that he was God's gift to the theater
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Recent Examples of cocky
Lane is Orleans University’s All-Star baseball captain: cocky, a talented pitcher, and the ultimate player on and off the field.
—
Ashlee Conour, Chicago Tribune, 16 July 2025
However, stablecoin issuers that get cocky with those principles can suffer their own meltdowns: In 2022, the now-bankrupt firm Terra saw its TerraUSD stablecoin collapse in one of that year's biggest tech failures.
—Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 18 July 2025
Jimmy, boyish and cocky as ever, proves a real asset thanks to his clandestine connection with Lex’s fashionista, selfie-snapping girlfriend Eve (Sara Sampaio).
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2025
The story itself is stripped to bone and sinew: a sleepy New England beach town that wants tourist dollars more than truth, an invisible killer in plain water, and three men — one scared sheriff, one cocky scientist, one Ahab of a fisherman — set adrift to settle nature’s score.
—Philip Martin, Arkansas Online, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for cocky
Ashlee Conour, Chicago Tribune, 16 July 2025
However, stablecoin issuers that get cocky with those principles can suffer their own meltdowns: In 2022, the now-bankrupt firm Terra saw its TerraUSD stablecoin collapse in one of that year's biggest tech failures.
—Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 18 July 2025
Jimmy, boyish and cocky as ever, proves a real asset thanks to his clandestine connection with Lex’s fashionista, selfie-snapping girlfriend Eve (Sara Sampaio).
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2025
The story itself is stripped to bone and sinew: a sleepy New England beach town that wants tourist dollars more than truth, an invisible killer in plain water, and three men — one scared sheriff, one cocky scientist, one Ahab of a fisherman — set adrift to settle nature’s score.
—Philip Martin, Arkansas Online, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for cocky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cocky
Adjective
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Other characters include a talkative nurse, a wise parrot named Leonard, and a grumpy cat named Bitchy.—
Duante Beddingfield,
Freep.com,
30 July 2025
-
Chekhov’s imagination is too wise and subtle for that.—
Philip Metres
July 30,
Literary Hub,
30 July 2025
Adjective
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No brand should be so cocksure as to presume its products are irreplaceable.—
Cate Rubenstein,
Rolling Stone,
11 Jan. 2023
-
Nayeri’s demeanor — usually cocksure — became unhinged.—
Tim Dickinson,
Rolling Stone,
17 Dec. 2022
Adjective
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One’s insolent, calling him lame and old, and the other affectedly infantile, but both are exhausting in their own way.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2025
-
The government, in an insolent filing on Sunday evening, rewrote that instruction.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Maya Sofia Enciso has a sassy, big-hearted idealism as Nina’s daughter, Chivi.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 July 2025
-
Alba and Warren share three children: daughter Honor Marie (the sassy Wimbledon one), born in June 2008; daughter Haven Garner, born in August 2011; and son Hayes, born in December 2017.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
21 July 2025
Adjective
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Azerbaijan, meanwhile, has reportedly attempted to persuade its lobbyists not to register under FARA, in brazen defiance of the law.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
28 July 2025
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And the governor with such brazen contempt for public records laws is also suddenly a champion of transparency, demanding a mountain of documents from Broward on nine days’ notice.—
Steve Bousquet,
Sun Sentinel,
26 July 2025
Adjective
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Gemma reluctantly agrees to rebuild her impudent robot in a new body, and the sequel ends with an explosive showdown between Amelia and M3GAN, who nearly dies in a noble attempt to save Gemma and her niece, Cady (Violet McGraw).—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
29 June 2025
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One chord appears to speak to the other, sounding almost impudent in their simplicity, equal parts ecstatic and heartbreakingly melancholic.—
Sam Davies,
Rolling Stone,
10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Patience is the ultimate virtue Thanks to the three biggest decisions Ujiri made in the 13 months leading up to the title — the firing of Dwane Casey, the trade for Kawhi Leonard and the deadline trade for Marc Gasol — Ujiri gained a reputation for bold, abrupt decision-making.—
Eric Koreen,
New York Times,
24 July 2025
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The film, a bold, tender Mexican road movie, will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival‘s Horizons section.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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The 44-year-old Texan has worn badass on his sleeve from the get-go, cutting the coolest figure in country music for the better part of a decade in his brash voice, hard-living lyrics, and modern long-haired outlaw.—
Josh Crutchmer,
Rolling Stone,
25 July 2025
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He’s known for brash takes on politics and appears to relish taking down moralists and elitists.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
20 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cocky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cocky. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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