pessimism

C2+ Topic:Psychology & Behavior

US /ˈpɛsɪmɪzəm/ UK /ˈpesɪmɪzəm/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a tendency to expect the worst outcome

His habitual pessimism made every plan sound doomed.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a tendency to expect the... cynicismnegativitygloomdefeatismfatalism despondency

Opposites

optimism hopefulnesspositivity

Word family

Derived forms pessimist pessimistic

Related forms pessimalpessimum

Simplified etymology

Pessimism was coined in the 18th century from Latin pessimus, meaning “worst.” It originally denoted the worst possible state or condition.

Etymology

From French pessimisme, formed from Latin pessimus ('worst', superlative of malus 'bad') on the model of optimisme; coined in the late 18th century.

pessimus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Psychology & Behavior Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# pessimism

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɛsɪmɪzəm/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpesɪmɪzəm/

## Meanings
1. a tendency to expect the worst outcome

## Examples
- His habitual pessimism made every plan sound doomed.

## Synonyms
- cynicism
- negativity
- gloom
- defeatism
- fatalism
- despondency

## Antonyms
- optimism
- hopefulness
- positivity

## Derived Forms
- pessimist
- pessimistic

## Related Forms
- pessimal
- pessimum

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pessimus

## Etymology
From French pessimisme, formed from Latin pessimus ('worst', superlative of malus 'bad') on the model of optimisme; coined in the late 18th century.

## AI Etymology
Pessimism is from French pessimisme, formed from Latin pessimus ('worst', superlative of malus 'bad') on the model of optimisme; coined in the late 18th century. Important recorded forms include pessimus (Latin). The modern sense follows that older lexical line closely. In current use it covers a tendency to expect the worst outcome. The wider family includes derived forms such as pessimist and pessimistic and related words such as pessimal and pessimum.

## Topics
- Psychology & Behavior
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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