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  • Hope springs eternal
    Hope springs eternal
    People always hope for the best, even in the face of adversity. This saying is from “An Essay on Man,” by Alexander Pope.
  • hope springs eternal
    hope springs eternal
    People will keep on hoping, no matter what the odds. For example, I keep buying lottery tickets—hope springs eternal. This expression was coined by Alexander Pope (An Essay on Man, 1732) and quickly became proverbial.

Hope springs eternal

Cultural  

  1. People always hope for the best, even in the face of adversity. This saying is from “An Essay on Man,” by Alexander Pope.

hope springs eternal Idioms  

  1. People will keep on hoping, no matter what the odds. For example, I keep buying lottery tickets—hope springs eternal. This expression was coined by Alexander Pope (An Essay on Man, 1732) and quickly became proverbial.

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.

Asked about the prospect of a ceasefire in the Strip, he says: "Hope springs eternal."

From BBC • Feb. 29, 2024

Hope springs eternal across a crowded table of contents.

From New York Times • Feb. 21, 2022

"Hope springs eternal," Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said after the caucus meeting.

From Fox News • Jan. 14, 2020

Hope springs eternal, after all, and dies last.

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2019

Truly, from the good heart Hope springs eternal.

From Christine A Fife Fisher Girl by Barr, Amelia Edith Huddleston

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.