pessimist

noun

pes·​si·​mist ˈpe-sə-mist How to pronounce pessimist (audio)
 also  ˈpe-zə-
plural pessimists
: a person who is inclined to expect poor outcomes : someone who is given to pessimism
… such was the success of the first venture that many must now be optimistic where most were pessimists at the beginning of the year and for several years before.Francis Byrne
For pessimists, the heavens offer a host of doomsday scenarios—an asteroid crashing into Earth or deadly cosmic rays raining down on the planet.R. Cowen

Examples of pessimist in a Sentence

she's such a pessimist that she's convinced she'll fail every test a true pessimist, he's convinced that there will be wars as long as there are people to wage them
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The researchers also found that optimistic people showed bigger differences between brain patterns for emotionally positive and negative events than pessimists did. Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 21 July 2025 To the pessimists among them, Hollywood’s most personal profession has lost its human touch. Nate Jones, Vulture, 6 June 2025 But even pessimists were shocked by how aggressively the new team in Washington shook things up. Gideon Rose, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025 But that doesn’t stop a chorus of pessimists from emerging amid periods of market volatility. Luke Andriuk, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for pessimist

Word History

Etymology

pessim(ism) + -ist entry 1, after French pessimiste

First Known Use

1789, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pessimist was in 1789

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Cite this Entry

“Pessimist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pessimist. Accessed 1 Aug. 2025.

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