pessimistic
Americanadjective
Synonym Usage
See cynical.
Other Word 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.
Consumers have also become increasingly pessimistic, said Leo Barincou, an economist at Oxford Economics, in a note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Wall Street analysts are pessimistic on Lululemon, through the filter of their usually rose-colored glasses.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Hutchins is pessimistic about staving off the ban and laments what it would mean for the city's famed French restaurants.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
One young man observed that even the way I’d characterized the change in Bitcoin’s price as a loss of value was unnecessarily pessimistic.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
When I got home that afternoon, after eight months of searching New York, I was exhausted and frustrated and pessimistic, even though what I wanted to be was happy.
From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
