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
But if those pessimistic Hollywood predictions about a weak opening come to pass?
—
Richard Edwards, Space.com, 19 May 2026
Gallup’s 2025 poll was the first time the organization found younger Americans to be more pessimistic than people in other countries about job prospects, and that trend looks primed to continue.
—Justin Klawans, TheWeek, 13 May 2026
On Polymarket, traders have a slightly more pessimistic outlook.
—Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 4 May 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for pessimistic
Richard Edwards, Space.com, 19 May 2026
Gallup’s 2025 poll was the first time the organization found younger Americans to be more pessimistic than people in other countries about job prospects, and that trend looks primed to continue.
—Justin Klawans, TheWeek, 13 May 2026
On Polymarket, traders have a slightly more pessimistic outlook.
—Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 4 May 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for pessimistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pessimistic
Adjective
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On May 18, Venus will conclude its journey through the flirtatious and thought-provoking sign of Gemini and enter the sentimental and hopeless romantic sign of Cancer.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
18 May 2026
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That reality makes the climb for promising teams like the Magic feel almost hopeless.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 May 2026
Adjective
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To start the second half, Australia captain Henry Hutchison made a try-saving tackle on Tristan Leyds, who was then sin-binned for a cynical foul.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
31 May 2026
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His social commentary reflected disgust with the unfettered capitalism of the Gilded Age, and his cynical aphorisms became widely quoted.—
Peter Hessler,
New Yorker,
31 May 2026
Adjective
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Republicans can be convinced that negative stories about their candidates are media put-ons, and Democrats are a little envious that their voters haven’t adopted the same attitude of ignore, fight, move on, maybe sue.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
3 June 2026
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The system features an open architecture that pairs a pure lithium metal negative electrode directly with ambient oxygen drawn from the surrounding atmosphere to act as the positive electrode reactant.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pessimistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pessimistic. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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