pessimist

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See also: Pessimist

English

Etymology

From French pessimiste, from Latin pessimus (worst) +‎ -ist.

Pronunciation

Noun

pessimist (plural pessimists)

  1. Someone who habitually expects the worst outcome; one who looks on the dark side of things.
    Antonym: optimist
    Hyponyms: bear (in finance), declinist
    • 1940 September 29, “Letters Reveal Ordeals in France”, in The New York Times, page 12:
      I will not marry a pessimist, a born loser, a fellow who has no fight in him.
    • 1947 September 27, Richard R. Werry, “An American Beginning for International Education”, in School and Society, volume 66, number 1709, Lancaster, Pa.: The Society for the Advancement of Education, Inc., page 238:
      We are becoming as a nation, as a world, indeed, atom-conscious. Many of us are already afflicted with atomphobia, though so far it has manifested itself only in a mirage of autoaeromotive discs and a war of words between chronic optimists and empirical pessimists concerning civilization’s probable future.

Derived terms

Translations

Danish

Noun

pessimist c (singular definite pessimisten, plural indefinite pessimister)

  1. pessimist

Declension

Antonyms

Dutch

Pronunciation

Noun

pessimist m (plural pessimisten, diminutive pessimistje n, feminine pessimiste)

  1. pessimist

Synonyms

Descendants

  • Indonesian: pesimis

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

pessimist m (definite singular pessimisten, indefinite plural pessimister, definite plural pessimistene)

  1. a pessimist

Antonyms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

pessimist m (definite singular pessimisten, indefinite plural pessimistar, definite plural pessimistane)

  1. a pessimist

Antonyms

References

Swedish

Noun

pessimist c

  1. a pessimist
    Antonym: optimist

Declension

References