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
-
Jim interviewed Niccol last week and came away optimistic about the company's trajectory in 2026.—
Paulina Likos,
CNBC,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Ted is optimistic that this budding romance is the beginning of his Christmas comeback, but his looming holiday bad luck still has a few curveballs in store for him.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The path to Level 5 autonomous driving has turned out to be a much longer and bumpy one than the optimists once hoped.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Mokyr has long been known as an optimist about recent technological innovation.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
For now, the region appears cautiously hopeful that the tone has changed, and that Washington’s promises of partnership will be matched by consistency in policy.—
Mayu Saini,
Sourcing Journal,
27 Oct. 2025
-
As the investigation continues, Melodee's extended family remains hopeful for her return.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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He’s got the twinkly eye and the sly, gregarious spiritual ease of a Micawber or a Cheeryble.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2024
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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
-
Of the roiling mass of restless natives, cranky artists and tattered idealists who rose up across the Southland this summer to flip off darkness and call America back to its better angels?—
John Lopez,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Sep. 2025
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Fifteen years later, Brooks is back with a story about a young idealist trying to balance a professional life in politics with her wacky family.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In January, Zapata will open a flight center near Las Vegas, where dreamers can fly on a geofenced track that winds around the roughly 50-acre property.—
J. George Gorant,
Robb Report,
24 Oct. 2025
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Throughout the 1970s, as much as Nicholson’s rebels or Beatty’s hopeless romantics, Keaton’s optimistic dreamers repeatedly collided with the realities of the times, measuring the distance between what the counterculture thought was possible and what the world would actually allow.—
Tim Grierson,
Rolling Stone,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The 33-year-old was heavy-handed with her blush, giving herself the rosy flush of someone who’s just spent an hour in front of an open fire, a glass of red wine in hand.—
Sam Reed,
Glamour,
25 Oct. 2025
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The chestnut color harmonizes perfectly with her skin tone, as well as her makeup in rosy berry tones on both lips and cheeks.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Throughout the 1970s, as much as Nicholson’s rebels or Beatty’s hopeless romantics, Keaton’s optimistic dreamers repeatedly collided with the realities of the times, measuring the distance between what the counterculture thought was possible and what the world would actually allow.—
Tim Grierson,
Rolling Stone,
11 Oct. 2025
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Those attributes — earning Piccioli a reputation in fashion as one of its great romantics — were also apparent in his designs for Balenciaga, which incorporated plenty of thoughtful details that referenced the archive.—
Kati Chitrakorn,
CNN Money,
5 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pollyanna.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Pollyanna. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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