optimism
Use Optimism in a sentence
təˌmɪz noun
1.
a disposition or tendency to look on the more favorable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome.
2.
the belief that good ultimately predominates over evil in the world.
3.
the belief that goodness pervades reality.
4.
the doctrine that the existing world is the best of all possible worlds.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To optimism
00:10
Optimism
is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
optimism (ˈɒptɪˌmɪzəm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | the tendency to expect the best and see the best in all things |
| 2. | hopefulness; confidence |
| 3. | the doctrine of the ultimate triumph of good over evil |
| 4. | the philosophical doctrine that this is the best of all possible worlds |
| [C18: from French optimisme, from Latin optimus best, superlative of bonus good] | |
| 'optimist | |
| —n | |
| opti'mistic | |
| —adj | |
| opti'mistical | |
| —adj | |
| opti'mistically | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
optimism
1782, from Fr. optimisme (1737), from Mod.L. optimum, used by Leibnitz (in Théodicée, 1710) to mean "the greatest good," from L. optimus "the best" (see optimum). The doctrine holds that the actual world is the "best of all possible worlds," in which the creator
accomplishes the most good at the cost of the least evil.
"En termes de l'art, il l'appelle la raison du meilleur ou plus savamment encore, et Theologiquement autant que Géométriquement, le systême de l'Optimum, ou l'Optimisme." [Mémoires de Trévoux, Feb. 1737]Launched out of philosophical jargon and into currency by Voltaire's satire on it in "Candide." General sense of "belief that good ultimately will prevail in the world" first attested 1841 in Emerson; meaning "tendency to take a hopeful view of things" first recorded 1819 in Shelley.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
optimism
n. What a programmer is full of after fixing the last bug and before discovering the _next_ last bug. Fred Brooks's book "The Mythical Man-Month" (See "Brooks's Law") contains the following paragraph that describes this extremely well:All programmers are optimists. Perhaps this modern sorcery especially attracts those who believe in happy endings and fairy godmothers. Perhaps the hundreds of nitty frustrations drive away all but those who habitually focus on the end goal. Perhaps it is merely that computers are young, programmers are younger, and the young are always optimists. But however the selection process works, the result is indisputable: "This time it will surely run," or "I just found the last bug.". See also Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology.
Jargon
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
optimism definition
What a programmer is full of after fixing the last bug and just before actually discovering the *next* last bug. Fred Brooks's book "The Mythical Man-Month" contains the following paragraph that describes this extremely well.
All programmers are optimists. Perhaps this modern sorcery especially attracts those who believe in happy endings and fairy god-mothers. Perhaps the hundreds of nitty frustrations drive away all but those who habitually focus on the end goal. Perhaps it is merely that computers are young, programmers are younger, and the young are always optimists. But however the selection process works, the result is indisputable: "This time it will surely run," or "I just found the last bug.".
See also Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology.
[Jargon File]
Example sentences
It gives you optimism that you can knock it out without hurting anybody.
He thinks the rise in bond yields to date is due more to optimism about the economy than fear of deflation.
Patriotism, optimism, and scrubbed suburban living were the rule of the day.
But one complicating factor potentially cancels out much of the optimism espoused yesterday.
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