pessimism
Use Pessimism in a sentence
əˌmɪz noun
1.
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.
2.
the doctrine that the existing world is the worst of all possible worlds, or that all things naturally tend to evil.
3.
the belief that the evil and pain in the world are not compensated for by goodness and happiness.
Origin:
1785–95; < Latin pessim(us), suppletive superlative of malus bad + -ism; modeled on optimism
1785–95; < Latin pessim(us), suppletive superlative of malus bad + -ism; modeled on optimism
Related forms
o·ver·pes·si·mism, noun
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.
Cite This Source
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Link To pessimism
Collins
World English Dictionary
pessimism (ˈpɛsɪˌmɪzəm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | the tendency to expect the worst and see the worst in all things |
| 2. | the doctrine of the ultimate triumph of evil over good |
| 3. | the doctrine that this world is corrupt and that man's sojourn in it is a preparation for some other existence |
| [C18: from Latin pessimus worst, from malus bad] | |
| 'pessimist | |
| —n | |
| pessi'mistic | |
| —adj | |
| pessi'mistical | |
| —adj | |
| pessi'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
00:10
Pessimism
is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
pessimism
1794 "worst condition possible," borrowed (by Coleridge) from Fr. pessimisme, formed (on model of Fr. optimisme) from L. pessimus "worst," originally "bottom-most," from PIE *ped-samo-, superl. of base *pes- "foot" (see foot). As a name given to the doctrines of Schopenhauer,
Hartmann, etc., that this is the worst possible world, or that everything tends toward evil, it is first recorded 1878, from Ger. pessimismus (Schopenhauer, 1819).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The current pessimism brings together two strands of thinking.
Yet the personal happiness is counterbalanced by feelings of pessimism about the state of the world.
There is nothing new in society being gripped by anxiety about the present and pessimism about the future.
All this ought to be the point of maximum pessimism where contrarian investors start buying.
Nearby Words
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