pessimism

noun pes·si·mism \ ˈpe-sə-ˌmi-zəm also ˈpe-zə- \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Examples: pessimism in a Sentence

Definition of pessimism

1 : an inclination to emphasize adverse aspects, conditions, and possibilities or to expect the worst possible outcome

2 a : the doctrine that reality is essentially evil

b : the doctrine that evil overbalances happiness in life

See pessimism defined for English-language learners

See pessimism defined for kids

Examples of pessimism in a Sentence

Although the economy shows signs of improving, a sense of pessimism remains.

Recent Examples of pessimism from the Web

Many residents in the Bay Area Council survey expressed pessimism for the overall economic health of the Bay Area.

— michael mcgough, sacbee, "Nearly half of Bay Area residents want out, poll shows. The reason why is no surprise," 3 June 2018
Reason for pessimism: Can the program get over the mental hurdle of falling short of its first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2013?

— edward lee, baltimoresun.com, "Premature men’s lacrosse rankings for 2019, Part 4," 1 June 2018
So what is behind the sudden outburst of pessimism about what would be the most spectacular diplomatic summit in decades?

— stephen collinson, CNN, "Pessimism mounts ahead of historic Trump-Kim nuclear summit," 23 May 2018
Yoichi Shimada, who serves as the vice chairman of the National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea, admits that a sense of pessimism has descended on the families in recent weeks.

— julian ryall, USA TODAY, "What's next for Japan's forgotten prisoners in North Korea?," 19 Apr. 2018
For the optimistic among us, his pessimism proved only that there was something worth protecting in those books—some product of hours, days, and years of labor that could not have been brought to life any other way.

— nathan heller, Vogue, "Remembering Philip Roth, Literary Risk-Taker," 23 May 2018
Trump on Wednesday expressed pessimism that tensions between the U.S. and Iran would ease anytime soon.

— the washington post, OregonLive.com, "Trump warns Iran of `severe consequence' if nuclear work resumes," 9 May 2018
Nordstrom has largely sidestepped investors’ pessimism however, with its shares gaining 13 percent in the last six months.

— justina vasquez, Bloomberg.com, "Nordstrom Looks to Win Over Manhattan With Focus on Service," 12 Apr. 2018
And Mutz’s own results showed that the factors most likely to lead to a Trump vote included pessimism about the economy and preferring Trump’s position on China to Clinton’s.

— caleb crain, The New Yorker, "Is Capitalism a Threat to Democracy?," 7 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pessimism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of pessimism

borrowed from French pessimisme, from Latin pessimus "worst" + French -isme -ism, formed by analogy with optimisme optimism; Latin pessimus, probably going back to *pedisamos, derivative (with -isamos, superlative suffix, going back to Italic & Celtic *-ism̥mos) of *ped-, extracted from *ped-tu- "a fall, falling" (whence Latin pessum "to the bottom, to destruction"), verbal noun from an Indo-European base *ped- "step, fall," whence, with varying ablaut grades, Old English gefetan "to fall," Old Church Slavic padǫ, pasti, Sanskrit padyate "(s/he) falls, perishes"

Note: The Indo-European verbal base *ped- is generally taken to be a derivative of the noun *pōd-, ped- "foot"; see ¹foot.

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1815

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year