optimist

American  

[op-tuh-mist] / ˈɒp tə mɪst /

noun

1. an optimistic person.

2. a person who holds the belief or the doctrine of optimism.

---

Other Word Forms

• antioptimist noun
• overoptimist noun
• superoptimist noun

Etymology

Origin of optimist

First recorded in 1760–70; from French optimiste, from Latin optim(um) ( optimum ) + French -iste -ist

Example Sentences

One I heard while working as a journalist in Moscow in the early 1980s: “A pessimist is a well-informed optimist.”

From The Wall Street Journal

I’m enough of a cockeyed optimist to believe that exposure to different cultures, to ways of being in, looking at and talking about the world, can cure a person of prejudice.

From Los Angeles Times

Defeat at the Gabba left only the keenest optimists holding on to the faintest hope.

From BBC

This is just the beginning, say the optimists.

From Los Angeles Times

But despite her comparisons to pessimistic comedians like Larry David, Hoffman remains an optimist.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dreamer
• idealist