pessimistic
Americanadjective
Synonym Usage
See cynical.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of pessimistic
Explanation
Pessimistic describes the state of mind of someone who always expects the worst. A pessimistic attitude isn't very hopeful, shows little optimism, and can be a downer for everyone else. To be pessimistic means you believe evil outweighs the good and that bad things are more likely to happen. So pessimistic people are usually pretty negative. And kind of a bummer to be around. Think of Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh's perpetually gloomy friend. The word comes to us, not surprisingly, from the Latin pessimus — meaning "worst."
Vocabulary lists containing pessimistic
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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ACT Reading Test: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Pessimistic forecasts of 6.0% and 5.5% not "out of the question", it says.
From Reuters • Mar. 30, 2023
Pessimistic estimates suggest that Russia might face six-figure numbers of daily new infections, according to Anna Popova, head of Russia’s public health agency Rospotrebnadzor.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 11, 2022
‘So given everything that’s happening, are you optimistic about real change? Pessimistic? Or is the verdict still out?”
From Washington Post • Dec. 8, 2021
Pessimistic Knicks fans, who are legion, will note that the franchise hasn’t signed a marquee free agent since the oft-injured Amar’e Stoudemire came on board in 2010.
From Slate • Jan. 31, 2019
Pessimistic doctrines were fatal to her mind's equilibrium, and private experience and outward intellectual influences were driving her to distrust all objects of her previous worship, human and divine.
From Famous Women: George Sand by Thomas, Bertha
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
