Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun One who accepts the metaphysical doctrine of pessimism, in either sense.
- noun One who exaggerates the evils of life or is disposed to see only its dark side; one who is given to melancholy or depressing views of life.
- Same as
pessimistic .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective (Metaph.) Of or pertaining to pessimism; characterized by pessimism; gloomy; foreboding.
- noun (Metaph.) One who advocates the doctrine of pessimism; -- opposed to
optimist . - noun One who looks on the dark side of things.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Someone who given a choice of outcomes, believes the
worst is more likely.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a person who expects the worst
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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In popular language the term pessimist is applied to persons who habitually take a melancholy view of life, to whom painful experiences appeal with great intensity, and who have little corresponding appreciation of pleasurable ones.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 11: New Mexico-Philip 1840-1916 1913
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I think that a pessimist is a curse to any country, for after all, any fool can preach the gospel of
Canadian Unity 1924
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One petroleum engineer -- Michael Economides of the University of Houston -- calls peak oil predictions "the figments of the imaginations of born-again pessimist geologists."
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Before five minutes are up, the pessimist is screaming and wailing in his room.
Art of Possibility (Copy) ____Maggie 2006
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Before five minutes are up, the pessimist is screaming and wailing in his room.
Archive 2006-04-01 ____Maggie 2006
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And, you know, as I said, as a long-term pessimist, I'm looking at this and thinking maybe this is a point where everybody is tired of all the death and killing.
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Ms. O'TOOLE: Well, I have -- I-- I finally figured out that I'm a short-term pessimist and a long-term optimist.
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A true Christian is a short term pessimist but a long term optimist.
1. The Work of IDAF 1965
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I don't remember the name of the great Frenchman, but he was a man of perception who said that the optimist lives in the world, and the pessimist is only a spectator.
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There is nothing for it except to be a “short-term pessimist” i.e. to keep out of politics, make a sort of oasis within which you and your friends can remain sane, and hope that somehow things will be better in a hundred years.
Collected Essays 1900
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