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
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Perhaps Vrabel knew something optimistic fans did not know.—
Mike Sando,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Klarna was unusually optimistic about AI’s capabilities.—
Peter Cohan,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Schulman, an optimist as well as an experienced fashion and luxury goods executive, shifted that earth-moving machine into high gear, and quickly began turning the brand’s fortunes around.—
Samantha Conti,
Footwear News,
4 Sep. 2025
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Ever the optimist, Kirban is unfazed.—
Sergei Klebnikov,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Things seemed to be going Sporting KC’s way in the first half of a Sunday night matchup with fellow Western Conference playoff hopeful Austin FC.—
Daniel Sperry,
Kansas City Star,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Our narrator, a gay, happily married father of two disentangling himself from a poly love affair, is—depending on the light—brilliant, self-mythologizing, abject, hopeful, and vulnerable.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 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
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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
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Feng’s subjects are largely idealists who engage in activities that eventually run afoul of Xi’s increasingly repressive regime.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Like legions of dreamers before him, McGuirk started on film and TV sets as a PA, an often thankless job where random castigations from members of the cast or crew can be par for the course.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Sep. 2025
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Continue To Dream At the heart of every nonprofit is a desire for transformative change—a testament to the dreamers and visionaries who brave challenges in pursuit of a better world.—
Rachelle Rutherford,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Herbert has a rosy outlook financially as well.—
Brett Knight,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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Until recently, things were not looking so rosy.—
Alex González Ormerod,
Time,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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That reasoning helped anchor the setting for The Paper inside the office of a newspaper with dwindling resources, a beleaguered staff, and a boss whose belief in the institution borders on the romantic.—
Andy Meek,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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This book is the perfect read for hopeless romantics and for those who believe that love and healing have the power to transcend lifetimes.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
14 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pollyanna.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Pollyanna. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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