pessimist
See also: Pessimist
English
Etymology
From French pessimiste, from Latin pessimus (“worst”) + -ist.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈpɛsɪmɪst/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Noun
pessimist (plural pessimists)
- Someone who habitually expects the worst outcome; one who looks on the dark side of things.
- 1940 September 29, “Letters Reveal Ordeals in France”, in The New York Times, page 12:
- I will not marry a pessimist, a born loser, a fellow who has no fight in him.
- 1947 September 27, Richard R. Werry, “An American Beginning for International Education”, in School and Society, volume 66, number 1709, Lancaster, Pa.: The Society for the Advancement of Education, Inc., page 238:
- We are becoming as a nation, as a world, indeed, atom-conscious. Many of us are already afflicted with atomphobia, though so far it has manifested itself only in a mirage of autoaeromotive discs and a war of words between chronic optimists and empirical pessimists concerning civilization’s probable future.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
someone who habitually expects the worst outcome
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Danish
Noun
pessimist c (singular definite pessimisten, plural indefinite pessimister)
Declension
common gender |
singular | plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | pessimist | pessimisten | pessimister | pessimisterne |
genitive | pessimists | pessimistens | pessimisters | pessimisternes |
Antonyms
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from French pessimiste. Equivalent to pessimisme + -ist.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɛ.siˈmɪst/
Audio: (file) - Hyphenation: pes‧si‧mist
- Rhymes: -ɪst
Noun
pessimist m (plural pessimisten, diminutive pessimistje n, feminine pessimiste)
- pessimist
- Synonyms: doemdenker, zwartdenker, zwartkijker
- Antonym: optimist
Derived terms
Descendants
- Indonesian: pesimis
Norwegian Bokmål
Noun
pessimist m (definite singular pessimisten, indefinite plural pessimister, definite plural pessimistene)
Antonyms
Related terms
References
- “pessimist” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Noun
pessimist m (definite singular pessimisten, indefinite plural pessimistar, definite plural pessimistane)
Antonyms
Related terms
References
- “pessimist” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Swedish
Noun
pessimist c
Declension
nominative | genitive | ||
---|---|---|---|
singular | indefinite | pessimist | pessimists |
definite | pessimisten | pessimistens | |
plural | indefinite | pessimister | pessimisters |
definite | pessimisterna | pessimisternas |