pessimism

noun

pes·​si·​mism ˈpe-sə-ˌmi-zəm 

also ˈpe-zə-

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

Examples of pessimism in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s a signal that full pessimism is baked in! —Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026

Which means that pessimism is also deeply grounded in the world of the here and now in a way that optimists, with their faces always turned toward a sunnier future, refuse. —Literary Hub, 14 May 2026

Do tax credits and similar policy ideas miss the forest for the trees? Not surprisingly, at least to me, Sussman finds that certain social groups seem much less troubled by the general pessimism about bringing children into the world: traditional religious communities, for instance. —Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 12 May 2026

But the heightened pessimism spreads across all subgroups of younger Americans, including men and those who haven’t attended college. —Nicholas Riccardi, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

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 foot entry 1.

First Known Use

1815, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pessimism

• autism
• fascism
• racism
• sikhism
• sophism
• statism
• sufism
• thomism
• tourism
• tropism
• abolitionism
• aldosteronism

Kids Definition

pessimism

noun

pes·​si·​mism ˈpes-ə-ˌmiz-əm 

1

: a tending to expect the worst possible outcome

2

: a belief that evil is more common than good in life

pessimist

-məst 

noun

Medical Definition

pessimism

noun

pes·​si·​mism

ˈpes-ə-ˌmiz-əm also ˈpez-

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

pessimistic

ˌpes-ə-ˈmis-tik also ˌpez-

adjective