pessimism
the tendency to see, anticipate, or emphasize only bad or undesirable outcomes, results, conditions, problems, etc.: His pessimism about the future of our country depresses me.
the doctrine that the existing world is the worst of all possible worlds, or that all things naturally tend to evil.
the belief that the evil and pain in the world are not compensated for by goodness and happiness.
Origin of pessimism
1Other words from pessimism
- o·ver·pes·si·mism, noun
Words Nearby pessimism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use pessimism in a sentence
This pessimism persisted, thanks in part to the continual warnings by experts and many in government that terrorist networks were growing, along with the chances of another attack.
It wasn’t hubris that drove America into Afghanistan. It was fear. | Robert Kagan | August 26, 2021 | Washington PostWorldwide economic pessimism brought on by concerns over the delta variant is sending large amounts of capital to the sidelines.
Held in place by opposing forces, mortgage rates take a pause | Kathy Orton | July 29, 2021 | Washington PostI honestly don’t know what to believe, but the tension builds in my mind every day as I try to survive pessimism.
Locked up in the Land of Liberty: Part IV | Yariel Valdés González | July 28, 2021 | Washington BladeAs I answered his questions, at times tinged with irony, anguish enveloped my head in a balloon of pessimism and nerves.
Locked up in the Land of Liberty: Part III | Yariel Valdés González | July 21, 2021 | Washington BladeEconomic historian Robert Gordon calls himself “the prophet of pessimism.”
In reality,” Francis said, “theatrical severity and sterile pessimism are often symptoms of fear and insecurity.
Pope Francis Denounces the Vatican Elite’s 'Spiritual Alzheimer’s' | Barbie Latza Nadeau | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMy pessimism leads me to fight harder, or try to understand how I can do it differently.
Indeed, in some surveys pessimism about the next generation stands at an all-time high.
Class Issues, Not Race, Will Likely Seal the Next Election | Joel Kotkin | September 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThis pessimism—for all the discussion on campuses about “white privilege”—is even more deeply seated among young whites.
Class Issues, Not Race, Will Likely Seal the Next Election | Joel Kotkin | September 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThis pessimism is particularly intense among white working class voters, and large sections of the middle class.
In the Future We'll All Be Renters: America's Disappearing Middle Class | Joel Kotkin | August 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhich simple sentence contains more wisdom than all the pessimism of the King of kings.
God and my Neighbour | Robert BlatchfordThe disease of pessimism springs never from real troubles, which it braces men to bear, which it delights men to bear well.
The Pocket R.L.S. | Robert Louis StevensonIf a fervent desire to help Man, instead of wasting time in prayer to "God," is pessimism, I am a pessimist.
Tyranny of God | Joseph LewisIs the use of a danger signal at a hazardous crossing, for the purpose of preventing disaster, pessimism?
Tyranny of God | Joseph LewisThough his pessimism be in great part born of his climate, it has had a very real effect upon his statecraft.
The Onlooker, Volume 1, Part 2 | Various
British Dictionary definitions for pessimism
/ (ˈpɛsɪˌmɪzəm) /
the tendency to expect the worst and see the worst in all things
the doctrine of the ultimate triumph of evil over good
the doctrine that this world is corrupt and that man's sojourn in it is a preparation for some other existence
Origin of pessimism
1Derived forms of pessimism
- pessimist, noun
- pessimistic or rare pessimistical, adjective
- pessimistically, adverb
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
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