as in hopeless
emphasizing or expecting the worst
your defeatist attitude is depressing everyone else on the team!
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in realist
one who emphasizes bad aspects or conditions and expects the worst
we told her that if she was going to be such a defeatist, she should keep her thoughts to herself
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of defeatist
Jim Costa, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026
Job seekers can game this defeatist death-spiral by recalculating their measure of success.
—Amy Lindgren, Twin Cities, 22 Nov. 2025
China’s internet regulators have launched a campaign targeting online content that promotes negativity, pessimism, or defeatist attitudes and are urging netizens to report posts that violate these new standards.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
The prime minister’s far-right political allies, on the other hand, have accused the chief of staff of leading a weak and defeatist approach that is preventing victory over Hamas, the officials said.
—Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Nik Popli, Time, 29 Apr. 2026
Now there is a British tendency to be slightly defeatist.
—Liam Tharme, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2026
The mood just feels a little defeatist right now.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
This defeatist thinking is misguided and assumes action will be futile.
—Jim Costa, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026
Job seekers can game this defeatist death-spiral by recalculating their measure of success.
—Amy Lindgren, Twin Cities, 22 Nov. 2025
China’s internet regulators have launched a campaign targeting online content that promotes negativity, pessimism, or defeatist attitudes and are urging netizens to report posts that violate these new standards.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
The prime minister’s far-right political allies, on the other hand, have accused the chief of staff of leading a weak and defeatist approach that is preventing victory over Hamas, the officials said.
—Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Noun
Hegseth largely declined to provide specifics, instead denouncing critics as defeatists, questioning their patriotism and insisting the mission had broad public support.
—Nik Popli, Time, 29 Apr. 2026
Now there is a British tendency to be slightly defeatist.
—Liam Tharme, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2026
The mood just feels a little defeatist right now.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defeatist
Adjective
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To Some New Island Guests With a competitive streak a mile wide, Penny (Roorbach) is charming, popular, and a hopeless romantic – for now, anyway.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
7 May 2026
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This behavior has become epidemic in our voyeuristic and hopeless society.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
4 May 2026
Noun
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The character is described as playful but also a realist who’s well aware of society’s unspoken rules.—
Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Curry is the ultimate realist and the ultimate dreamer.—
Sports Columnist,
San Francisco Chronicle,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Senate Bill 6-D, one of the cynical subjects of this special session, would have further weakened Florida’s childhood vaccination rates, which have already sunk too low.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
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Both Angela Ingersoll, who played the ever-hopeful Sally, and Michelle Duffy, as the cynical realist Phyllis, pulsed with vivacious energy, playing across from Rapp’s sardonic take on wound-tight Ben and Wallem’s deeply sad exploration of Buddy.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Of course, cynics would say this is an easy way to get laughs, but Galifianakis’ quick wit ensures the unfiltered youngsters don’t always take center stage.—
Jon O'Brien,
IndieWire,
22 Apr. 2026
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The cynics are figures like Sam Bankman-Fried, who built a fortune off of a crypto exchange called FTX, which crashed and burned in the fall of 2022, eventually sending Bankman-Fried to prison for fraud.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
On Polymarket, traders have a slightly more pessimistic outlook.—
Davis Giangiulio,
CNBC,
4 May 2026
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As Insider notes, this isn’t the first time that Garman has hit back against some of the more pessimistic predictions about AI job takeovers.—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
2 May 2026
Noun
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Melville was a pessimist, and a tragedian.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
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As late as August 2007, the Federal Reserve was skeptical of such bubble talk, while Grantham was dismissed as a pessimist, a dismissal that soon proved mistaken.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
12 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defeatist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defeatist. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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