Entry Word: hopeful

Function: adjective

Meaning: 1 having qualities which inspire hope <economists are offering a hopeful forecast for a healthy economy in the coming year>

Synonyms auspicious, bright, encouraging, fair, golden, heartening, likely, optimistic, promising, propitious, rose-colored, rosy, upbeat

Related Words cheering, comforting, reassuring; assured, confident, decisive, doubtless, positive, sure, unhesitating; bullish, favorable, good

Near Antonyms cheerless, comfortless; doubtful, dubious, uncertain; bearish, grim, negative, unfavorable

Antonyms bleak, dark, desperate, discouraging, disheartening, dismal, dreary, gloomy, hopeless, inauspicious, pessimistic, unlikely, unpromising

2 pointing toward a happy outcome <a hopeful response to the ad, several people calling to say theyʼd seen our lost cat> — see favorable 2