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optimism

op·ti·mism
O o

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [op-tuh-miz-uh m]
    • /ˈɒp təˌmɪz əm/
    • /ˈɒp.tɪ.mɪ.zəm/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [op-tuh-miz-uh m]
    • /ˈɒp təˌmɪz əm/

Definitions of optimism word

  • noun optimism a disposition or tendency to look on the more favorable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome. 1
  • noun optimism the belief that good ultimately predominates over evil in the world. 1
  • noun optimism the belief that goodness pervades reality. 1
  • noun optimism the doctrine that the existing world is the best of all possible worlds. 1
  • noun optimism Hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something. 1
  • noun Definition of optimism in Technology What a programmer is full of after fixing the last bug and just before actually discovering the *next* last bug. Fred Brooks's book "The Mythical Man-Month" contains the following paragraph that describes this extremely well. All programmers are optimists. Perhaps this modern sorcery especially attracts those who believe in happy endings and fairy god-mothers. Perhaps the hundreds of nitty frustrations drive away all but those who habitually focus on the end goal. Perhaps it is merely that computers are young, programmers are younger, and the young are always optimists. But however the selection process works, the result is indisputable: "This time it will surely run," or "I just found the last bug.". See also Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology. 1

Information block about the term

Origin of optimism

First appearance:

before 1730
One of the 48% newest English words
1730-40; < French optimisme < Latin optim(um) (see optimum) + French -isme -ism

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Optimism

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

optimism popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 92% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

optimism usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for optimism

noun optimism

  • hopefulness — full of hope; expressing hope: His hopeful words stimulated optimism.
  • sanguinity — cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident: a sanguine disposition; sanguine expectations.
  • confidence — If you have confidence in someone, you feel that you can trust them.
  • positiveness — explicitly stated, stipulated, or expressed: a positive acceptance of the agreement.
  • positivity — the state or character of being positive: a positivity that accepts the world as it is.

Antonyms for optimism

noun optimism

  • pessimism — the tendency to see, anticipate, or emphasize only bad or undesirable outcomes, results, conditions, problems, etc.: His pessimism about the future of our country depresses me.
  • depression — A depression is a time when there is very little economic activity, which causes a lot of unemployment and poverty.
  • distrust — to regard with doubt or suspicion; have no trust in.
  • doubt — to be uncertain about; consider questionable or unlikely; hesitate to believe.
  • fear — a river in SE North Carolina. 202 miles (325 km) long.

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See also

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