as in optimistic
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as in optimist
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Recent Examples of Pollyanna
Rich Roll, Outside, 26 Aug. 2025
During the festival, those attending can enjoy a selection of beer, wine and cocktails from Pollyanna Brewing & Distilling, along with offerings from other local St. Charles breweries, according to the release.
—Aurora Beacon-News, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
Your options aren’t only ‘cynical’ or ‘naïve’ The opposite of a cynic is a Pollyanna.
—Stav Ziv, CNBC, 24 June 2025
But isn’t the cynical explanation also the Pollyanna one?
—Maya Singer, Vogue, 8 Jan. 2025
Informed hope is not a Pollyanna attitude, but balancing the realities of the situation with the positive things people are doing.
—Natalie Eilbert, Journal Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2024
Noun
Alexi’s tutu-twirling positivity should not be confused with Pollyanna, nor her quirky insights with naiveté.
—Rich Roll, Outside, 26 Aug. 2025
During the festival, those attending can enjoy a selection of beer, wine and cocktails from Pollyanna Brewing & Distilling, along with offerings from other local St. Charles breweries, according to the release.
—Aurora Beacon-News, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
Your options aren’t only ‘cynical’ or ‘naïve’ The opposite of a cynic is a Pollyanna.
—Stav Ziv, CNBC, 24 June 2025
But isn’t the cynical explanation also the Pollyanna one?
—Maya Singer, Vogue, 8 Jan. 2025
Informed hope is not a Pollyanna attitude, but balancing the realities of the situation with the positive things people are doing.
—Natalie Eilbert, Journal Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Pollyanna
Adjective
-
Instacart, on the other hand, reported strong revenue for its most recent period and issued an optimistic forecast for its first quarter.—
Josephine Rozzelle,
CNBC,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Operators remain cautiously optimistic, even as rising costs and softer traffic persist.—
Pamela McLoughlin,
Hartford Courant,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
An optimist might suggest that a lower hiring rate is a shake-out from incredibly tight conditions during the pandemic.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
31 Jan. 2026
-
If the skeptics hadn’t outnumbered the optimists by many miles, there’s no way Rockefeller could have pieced together what became Standard Oil.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
20 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Powers added that investors are hopeful that consumption and demand will rise as 2026 goes on, boosting these stocks.—
Davis Giangiulio,
CNBC,
15 Feb. 2026
-
By late afternoon, the batch of flowers and hopeful messages outside Guthrie’s home had swelled, and neighbors had attached yellow ribbons to their mailboxes and trees.—
Paige Williams,
New Yorker,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
He’s got the twinkly eye and the sly, gregarious spiritual ease of a Micawber or a Cheeryble.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2024
-
The smallest of the Micawber brood glides away in his baby carriage, because the bailiff is dragging the hallway carpet out from under the front door.—
Josephine Livingstone,
The New Republic,
16 Sep. 2020
Noun
-
While Sophie has a pragmatic approach to life, she’s complemented by Benedict, a dreamy idealist.—
Kat Moon,
Time,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Yet this gloss dismisses something that might be better understood as a guiding principle, and suggests that criticism of Israel is an idealist’s liability rather than a stance with growing support among Democratic voters.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The cloud network company gained nearly 5% after sharing a rosy first-quarter revenue outlook.—
Christina Cheddar Berk,
CNBC,
11 Feb. 2026
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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also said recently that last year’s hiring numbers were likely too rosy.—
Steve Kopack,
NBC news,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But today there’s something refreshingly unusual about electronic music so unabashedly idealistic, something that declines to submit to reality and instead goes searching for some far-off nirvana, finding connections to other dreamers on the way.—
Alex Robert Ross,
Pitchfork,
13 Feb. 2026
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Their journeys to the Olympics are more than anything immigrant stories, the odysseys of two families of dreamers who settled in the South Bay, Chloe Kim’s family in Torrance, Bea Kim’s on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.—
Scott M. Reid,
Oc Register,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
All are welcome to enjoy this friendly, upbeat community event.—
Ut Community Press,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
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The mood was cautiously upbeat, and the fashion was solid.—
Lisa Lockwood,
Footwear News,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pollyanna.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Pollyanna. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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