Panglossian
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of Panglossian
First recorded in 1825–35; after Pangloss, an optimistic character in Voltaire's Candide; compare Greek panglossía “garrulousness, wordiness” ( see pan-, glosso-, -y 3); see -ian
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.
Of course, there are limits to taking a Panglossian attitude and psyching ourselves up in the face of challenges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
But Mr. Clinton’s was not an isolated Panglossian view in the West in the decade after Mr. Gorbachev’s actions led to the end of the Cold War and the end of the Soviet Union.
From New York Times ● Aug. 31, 2022
Elghanian’s letters reveal a lonely man still trying to oversee his businesses and family affairs as the old regime collapses, clinging to a Panglossian belief that things will be all right.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2022
Of all the euphemisms the Times has used for "pathological lying," "Panglossian dismissiveness" maybe the the Times-iest.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2020
When my master adopted the Panglossian view of the universe I used no arguments that might cloud his serenity.
From The Belovéd Vagabond by William John Locke
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.
