pessimistic

English

Etymology

From pessimist +‎ -ic.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˌpɛ.səˈmɪs.tɪk/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪstɪk

Adjective

pessimistic (comparative more pessimistic, superlative most pessimistic)

  1. Marked by pessimism and little hopefulness; expecting the worst.
    a pessimistic view of the future
  2. Pertaining to the worst-case scenario.
    a pessimistic estimate
    • 1996, George Thomas Kurian, Graham Thomas Tate Molitor, Encyclopedia of the future, volume 1, page 212:
      However pessimistic their predictions, most scientists and scholars who warn of impending disaster are really acting from antidystopian motives.
  3. (computing) Taking out exclusive locks on data to prevent conflicts with other processes that might modify it.
    pessimistic concurrency; pessimistic locking

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Translations

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