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Definition of pessimism - 5 dictionary results
pes⋅si⋅mism
[pes-uh-miz-uh
m]
–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. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To pessimism
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Pessimism
Pes"si*mism\, n. [L. pessimus worst, superl. of pejor worse: cf. F. pessimisme. Cf. Impair.]1. (Metaph.) The opinion or doctrine that everything in nature is ordered for or tends to the worst, or that the world is wholly evil; -- opposed to optimism. 2. A disposition to take the least hopeful view of things.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : pessimism
Spanish:
pesimismo,
German:
der Pessimismus,
Japanese:
悲観主義
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). Pessimist "one who habitually expects the worst" is first recorded 1836, from Fr. pessimiste; pessimistic formed in Eng. 1868.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: pes·si·mism
Pronunciation: 'pes-&-"miz-&m also 'pez-
Function: noun
: an inclination to emphasize adverse aspects,conditions, and possibilities or to expect the worst possible outcome —pes·si·mis·tic /"pes-&-'mis-tik also "pez-/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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