pessimist
Variant of pessimism
pes·si·mism (pes′ə miz′əm)
noun
- Philos.
- the doctrine or belief that the existing world is the worst possible
- the doctrine or belief that the evil in life outweighs the good
- the tendency to expect misfortune or the worst outcome in any circumstances; practice of looking on the dark side of things
Etymology: Fr pessimisme < L pessimus, worst, superl. of pejor, worse: see pejorative
Related Forms:
- pessimist pes′·si·mist noun
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
pessimist
n.
Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true.
An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while the pessimist sees only the red stop- light. The truly wise person is colour-blind.
'Do you know what a pessimist is?' 'A man who thinks everybody is as nasty as himself, and hates them for it.'
Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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"pessimist." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009
- Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
- <www.yourdictionary.com/pessimist>
APA Style
pessimist. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary
- Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/pessimist
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