1
as in hopeless
emphasizing or expecting the worst
with that pessimistic attitude, it's no wonder you're depressed
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cynical
having or showing a deep distrust of human beings and their motives
pessimistic about the prospects for a lasting peace in the area
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Recent Examples of pessimistic
Underlying this low score is a sharp pessimistic turn regarding short-term progress.
—
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 Jan. 2026
This is an overly pessimistic assessment, in my view.
—Peter Harris, The Conversation, 28 Jan. 2026
The bearish sentiment isn’t confined to the front-end—investors are the most pessimistic on the dollar’s long-term outlook since at least May 2025.
—Jordan Erb, Bloomberg, 27 Jan. 2026
Still, others are more pessimistic about the outlook on sharks and overall marine life.
—Justin Klawans, TheWeek, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pessimistic
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 Jan. 2026
This is an overly pessimistic assessment, in my view.
—Peter Harris, The Conversation, 28 Jan. 2026
The bearish sentiment isn’t confined to the front-end—investors are the most pessimistic on the dollar’s long-term outlook since at least May 2025.
—Jordan Erb, Bloomberg, 27 Jan. 2026
Still, others are more pessimistic about the outlook on sharks and overall marine life.
—Justin Klawans, TheWeek, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pessimistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pessimistic
Adjective
-
From what looked like a hopeless position just a few weeks ago, the subscribers are now off the bottom of the table and gearing up for a potential title challenge.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
And if the hypotheticals are not enough to dissuade, history is littered with teams trading away their future for immediate glories, seeing their plans implode, and being left with a ruinous future that becomes a hopeless present while another team reaps the benefits.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
In his experiences and chronicles of the great ideological battles of the twentieth century, Curzio Malaparte was a shape-shifter—pitiless, clinical, cynical, unsentimental, indifferent to morality and idealism.—
Leah Downey,
The New York Review of Books,
7 Feb. 2026
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That didn’t happen, not least because of the cynical fecklessness of regional powers.—
Juan Pablo Spinetto,
Twin Cities,
1 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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What is, perhaps, a surprise is seeing a long-term trend, particularly apparent on decadal timescales, that tends towards a brighter (more negative) visual magnitude.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The prior year featured consistently modest gains and several months of negative growth for payrolls.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pessimistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pessimistic. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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