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Dunning-Kruger effect

Dunning-Kruger effect noun: a cognitive bias where an individual with limited knowledge or competence in a specific domain tends to greatly overestimate their own ability relative to objective criteria or the performance of others.

Noun

Dunning-Kruger effect (plural Dunning-Kruger effects)

  1. A cognitive bias where an individual with limited knowledge or competence in a specific domain tends to greatly overestimate their own ability relative to objective criteria or the performance of others.
    • Though it grants them the advantage of higher levels of optimism, the Dunning-Kruger effect also hamstrings low performers with an even greater disadvantage: being less aware of their failings, they remain less likely to see the need, and thus make the effort, to improve themselves.2012, Alex Lickerman, The Undefeated Mind, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN
    • [Prince] Andrew, unfortunately, exhibited classic symptoms of what is scientifically recognised as the Dunning-Kruger effect, the cognitive bias in which people come to believe that they are smarter and more capable than they really are. The combination of minimal self-awareness and dim wattage...2022, Tina Brown, The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor—the Truth and the Turmoil, Crown, →ISBN

Synonyms of Dunning-Kruger effect

Forms of Dunning-Kruger effect

pluralDunning-Kruger effects

Origin of Dunning-Kruger effect

Dunning + Kruger + effect. Coined on everything2 in 2002 by user uucp, who in 2005 copied the same entry to Wikipedia under the title Dunning-Kruger syndrome, named for David Dunning and Justin Kruger of Cornell University, who studied the phenomenon.

Words formed from Dunning-Kruger effect

Questions about Dunning-Kruger effect

What does Dunning-Kruger effect mean?
Dunning-Kruger effect means a cognitive bias where an individual with limited knowledge or competence in a specific domain tends to greatly overestimate their own ability relative to objective criteria or the performance of others.
What part of speech is Dunning-Kruger effect?
Dunning-Kruger effect is a noun.
What is the plural of Dunning-Kruger effect?
The plural of Dunning-Kruger effect is Dunning-Kruger effects.

Words near Dunning-Kruger effect in the dictionary

  1. dunnikens
  2. dunniness
  3. dunning
  4. Dunning-Kruger
  5. Dunning-Kruger bias
  6. Dunning-Kruger effect
  7. Dunning-Kruger effects
  8. Dunning-Kruger syndrome
  9. Dunning-Krugerrand
  10. Dunning-Krugerrands
  11. dunnings

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Dunning-Kruger effect (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “Dunning-Kruger effect.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/dunning-kruger_effect. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.