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Synonyms

hopeful

American  
[hohp-fuhl] / ˈhoʊp fəl /

adjective

  1. full of hope; expressing hope.

    His hopeful words stimulated optimism.
    Synonyms:
    confident, optimistic, sanguine, expectant

  2. exciting hope; promising advantage or success.

    a hopeful prospect.

noun

  1. a person who shows promise or aspires to success.

    the Democratic presidential hopeful.
hopeful British  
/ ˈhəʊpfʊl /

adjective

  1. having or expressing hope

  2. giving or inspiring hope; promising

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a person considered to be on the brink of success (esp in the phrase a young hopeful )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • hopefulness noun
  • unhopeful adjective
  • unhopefully adverb

Etymology

Origin of hopeful

First recorded in 1560–70; hope + -ful

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.