adjective
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having or expressing hope
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giving or inspiring hope; promising
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hopeful
Explanation
If you're hopeful about something, you're optimistic. You think it's going to turn out OK. Your team has been doing well in practice, so you're hopeful that you'll win the finals. Hopeful comes from the word hope, meaning "optimism about a future event," and the suffix -ful, meaning "full." So if you're hopeful, you're full of hope: you think something good is going to happen. You might be hopeful that you'll be offered a job after your great interview. Used as a noun, hopeful can describe a promising person who wants to succeed at a particular goal. The charismatic young politician is a hopeful for the next election.
Vocabulary lists containing hopeful
The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Emotions on Display
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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.
Hopefuls must register their candidacies by November 24 at the latest, giving Mr. Ko and Mr. Hou six days to find a compromise.
From Washington Times • Nov. 18, 2023
Hopefuls need seven colleagues to make the ballot: at least 10% of the caucus, excluding themselves.
From Reuters • Jan. 20, 2023
Hopefuls discuss hobbies, strut for the camera and size up each other’s appearances.
From New York Times • Dec. 24, 2022
Hopefuls need the backing of 100 MPs by Monday, with her successor likely to be announced by Friday at the latest.
From BBC • Oct. 20, 2022
Jean Louise looked at the three Perennial Hopefuls on her right.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
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.
