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optimist

[op-tuh-mist]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR optimist ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an optimistic person.

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

RELATED WORDS

idealist, dreamer, hoper, Pollyanna

Origin of optimist

1760–70; < French optimiste < Latin optim(um) (see optimum) + French -iste -ist

Related formsan·ti·op·ti·mist, noun, adjectiveo·ver·op·ti·mist, nounsu·per·op·ti·mist, noun

Can be confusedcynic optimist pessimist skeptic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for optimist

But I am an optimist, and I think this film is very optimistic.
Christopher Nolan Uncut: On ‘Interstellar,’ Ben Affleck’s Batman, and the Future of Mankind|Marlow Stern|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She is not the only optimist in the long line of people working hard in pursuit of an AIDS vaccine.
Why Can't We Find an AIDS Vaccine?|Kent Sepkowitz|September 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Well then, it seems Kofi Annan is hopping off the optimist bandwagon.
The Thin Veneer of African 'Democracy'|Justin Green|November 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Pessimist: I thought you said you were an optimist - not a fantasist.
Post-Convention Hangover: America Isn't Working|David Frum|September 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Optimist: But you need to remember why so many people are leaving the labor force.
Post-Convention Hangover: America Isn't Working|David Frum|September 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
If a patient be an optimist and persuades himself he is improving, he does improve.
Epilepsy, Hysteria, and Neurasthenia|Isaac G. Briggs
For years he has reproached the optimist with the charge that he lived by dreams rather than realities.
Pieces of Hate|Heywood Broun
The optimist raises the average of the world by his presence, the pessimist lowers the average.
Dollars and Sense|Col. Wm. C. Hunter
Ever an optimist, he affirmed that no one would see or hear.
Just William|Richmal Crompton
He was an easy, natural conversationalist, the kind of a man who "listens" well—an optimist, a dreamer.
The Long Chance|Peter B. Kyne

Word Origin and History for optimist

n.

1759, from French optimiste (1752); see optimism + -ist.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper