1
as in cynic
one who emphasizes bad aspects or conditions and expects the worst
she's such a pessimist that she's convinced she'll fail every test
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in misanthrope
a person who distrusts other people and believes that everything is done for selfish reasons
a true pessimist, he's convinced that there will be wars as long as there are people to wage them
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Recent Examples of pessimist
Crystal Palace Palace fans are usually the ultimate pessimists so this is a welcome change to see so many feeling good about the season.
—
George Caulkin, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2025
Optimists showed greater differences in neural patterns when thinking of positive events versus negative events, compared to pessimists.
—Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 July 2025
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
But even pessimists were shocked by how aggressively the new team in Washington shook things up.
—Gideon Rose, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pessimist
George Caulkin, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2025
Optimists showed greater differences in neural patterns when thinking of positive events versus negative events, compared to pessimists.
—Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 July 2025
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
But even pessimists were shocked by how aggressively the new team in Washington shook things up.
—Gideon Rose, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pessimist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pessimist
Noun
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On the other hand, skeptics and cynics tend to be insistent right now that the clean-up activity is not going to last very long.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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Travis Kelce knows what the cynics might think of his relationship with Taylor Swift — two of the most famous people in America just happen to match up perfectly?—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
12 Aug. 2025
Noun
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But the American leaders who midwifed the UN as World War II was still raging were somber realists, not utopians.—
Andreas Kluth,
Mercury News,
26 Sep. 2025
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Ever the geopolitical realist, the Chinese president will know Modi’s presence at his banquet was opportunistic at best, and doesn’t indicate the start of a beautiful friendship.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pessimist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pessimist. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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