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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In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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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.
At Saturday's rally, some in the crowd felt hopeful, as Ocasio-Cortez promised El-Sayed represented the "politics of the future".
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
The 1994 World Cup, with its record attendance, unprecedented TV coverage and hopeful performance by a young U.S. team provided the landing ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
They think this will inform a cautious approach to fiscal 2027 guidance, although they are hopeful that the Australian biopharma will have some new contract wins to report at next month’s annual result announcement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Rachel, from Cardiff, said she was unsuccessful during the first round of applications, but was hopeful in the second, having applied for three new positions.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
She gives us both a sad, hopeful smile.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
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.
