pessimism

noun

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

Definition of pessimism

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

2a : the doctrine that reality is essentially evil

b : the doctrine that evil overbalances happiness in life

Examples of pessimism in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Contemporary science fiction often feels fixated on a sort of pessimism that peers into the world of tomorrow and sees the apocalypse looming more often than not. — The Verge, "Better Worlds," 5 Dec. 2018 In context, then, Musk’s AI concerns are not an out-of-character streak of technological pessimism. — Kelsey Piper, Vox, "Why Elon Musk fears artificial intelligence," 2 Nov. 2018 This revisiting of America’s rise to greatness illustrates the power of unfettered capitalism, but many readers will be more interested in Alan Greenspan’s take on our own age, when pessimism is on the rise. — Edward Glaeser, WSJ, "‘Capitalism in America’ Review: The Commercial Republic," 18 Oct. 2018 What happened instead has been a surprisingly smooth path to Wednesday night’s semifinal against Croatia, as a youthful and undaunted England side swept away a nation’s pessimism. — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, "England’s Unfamiliar Emotion: Hope," 10 July 2018 The robust jobs report should counter some of the pessimism following last month’s GDP report that showed 3.5% growth in the third quarter but a disappointing 0.8% increase in business investment. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "The Growth Dividend for Workers," 2 Nov. 2018 But in covering the opioid epidemic, pessimism has, sadly, served me very well. — German Lopez, Vox, "Trump’s health secretary says the opioid epidemic may be turning around. Not so fast.," 24 Oct. 2018 When times were bad - 1986, 2008 and 2015 - pessimism prevailed. — Houston Chronicle, "Competition for top talent keeps pay scale high in oil industry," 13 July 2018 This enormous uncertainty leaves the Drake equation ultimately vulnerable to the optimism or pessimism of whoever wields it. — Liv Boeree, Vox, "Why haven’t we found aliens yet?," 3 July 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.

History and Etymology for 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"