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Definition of pessimism - 4 dictionary results

pes⋅si⋅mism

  [pes-uh-miz-uhm]
Use pessimism in a Sentence
–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; < L pessim(us), suppletive superl. of malus bad + -ism; modeled on optimism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pes·si·mism   (pěs'ə-mĭz'əm)   
n.  

  1. A tendency to stress the negative or unfavorable or to take the gloomiest possible view: "We have seen too much defeatism, too much pessimism, too much of a negative approach" (Margo Jones).

  2. The doctrine or belief that this is the worst of all possible worlds and that all things ultimately tend toward evil.

  3. The doctrine or belief that the evil in the world outweighs the good.


[French pessimisme (on the model of optimisme, optimism), from Latin pessimus, worst; see ped- in Indo-European roots.]
pes'si·mist n., pes'si·mis'tic adj., pes'si·mis'ti·cal·ly adv.
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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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). 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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Medical Dictionary

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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