pessimist
noun
pes·si·mist
ˈpe-sə-mist 
also ˈpe-zə-
plural pessimists
: a person who is inclined to expect poor outcomes : someone who is given to pessimism
… such was the success of the first venture that many must now be optimistic where most were pessimists at the beginning of the year and for several years before.—
Francis Byrne
Francis ByrneFor pessimists, the heavens offer a host of doomsday scenarios—an asteroid crashing into Earth or deadly cosmic rays raining down on the planet.—R. Cowen
R. CowenExamples of pessimist in a Sentence
she's such a pessimist that she's convinced she'll fail every test
a true pessimist, he's convinced that there will be wars as long as there are people to wage them
Recent Examples on the Web
In another survey, optimists were 40% more likely to get promoted over the next year, six times more likely to be highly engaged at work and five times less likely to burn out than pessimists.
—Caroline Castrillon, Forbes.com, 6 Apr. 2025
The power basketball conferences have dominated, and because power means football, and football means money, specifically more NIL money to use as tokens for players to use the NCAA transfer portal, pessimists see the mid-majors such as San Diego State on life support.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2025
Optimists scale the career ladder faster and farther than pessimists.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Optimists climb the career ladder faster and farther than pessimists.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pessimist
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Caroline Castrillon, Forbes.com, 6 Apr. 2025
The power basketball conferences have dominated, and because power means football, and football means money, specifically more NIL money to use as tokens for players to use the NCAA transfer portal, pessimists see the mid-majors such as San Diego State on life support.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2025
Optimists scale the career ladder faster and farther than pessimists.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Optimists climb the career ladder faster and farther than pessimists.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pessimist
Cite this Entry
“Pessimist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pessimist. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share