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
Three-quarters of those CEOs do expect a recession to be moderate or mild, rather than severe, matching the extent of the pessimistic view of the economy from a recent CNBC CFO Council survey.
—
Eric Rosenbaum, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025
As for the period after 2024, a report in Seeking Alpha describes a pessimistic sales outlook for Tesla.
—Hersh Shefrin, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025
Investors have been pessimistic about the company’s potential in the GLP-1 space ever since.
—Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 14 Apr. 2025
This movie isn’t just some cheeky caper, some pessimistic mess about pulling one over grandma.
—Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pessimistic
Eric Rosenbaum, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025
As for the period after 2024, a report in Seeking Alpha describes a pessimistic sales outlook for Tesla.
—Hersh Shefrin, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025
Investors have been pessimistic about the company’s potential in the GLP-1 space ever since.
—Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 14 Apr. 2025
This movie isn’t just some cheeky caper, some pessimistic mess about pulling one over grandma.
—Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pessimistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pessimistic
Adjective
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Previewing the playoffs with a playoff team draft Finding 3 positive thoughts for each of the NHL’s 15 most hopeless teams 16 stats: Blues’ turnaround, Lane Hutson’s stardom and Stars’ struggles Comments D Dan N. · 4h 17m ago Helle is thee best.—
Scott Powers,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
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Mimi seesaws between hopeless heroin addict and righteous truth-teller.—
Jeffrey Seller,
Vulture,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Beyond that, Acheampong’s rapid rise and equally precipitous fall in the first two weeks of January lent itself to the more cynical notion that Maresca might have wanted to send a message to Chelsea about the need for defensive reinforcements in the winter market.—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
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Perhaps most perplexing about Smash, though, is its weirdly cynical, ungenerous take on the Bombshell herself.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Meanwhile, the negative effects on the economy could be significant, prompting the Fed to lower rates sooner and more sharply.—
Paul Davidson,
USA Today,
17 Apr. 2025
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But if your reflection is limited to replaying the negative parts of your social interactions and perpetuating feelings of shame or self-criticism, that’s less constructive, says Janeé Steele, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in Kalamazoo, Michigan.—
Seraphina Seow,
Vogue,
17 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pessimistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pessimistic. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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