Meaning of pessimistic in English

pessimistic

adjective

/ˌpes.ɪˈmɪs.tɪk/ us

/ˌpes.əˈmɪs.t̬ɪk/

Add to word list Add to word list

thinking that bad things are more likely to happen or emphasizing the bad part of a situation:

The tone of the meeting was very pessimistic.

pessimistic about The doctors are pessimistic (= not hopeful) about his chances of recovery.

Synonym

gloomy (WITHOUT HOPE)

Opposite

optimistic

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Not hopeful

See more results »

Related word

pessimistically

(Definition of pessimistic from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of pessimistic

pessimistic

I think he is too pessimistic about what the surviving sermons themselves tell us.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In spite of this pessimistic assessment, there seems to be a theoretical possibility by which the output of a laser can be increased substantially.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

On the other hand, the epidemiologists were generally the most pessimistic raters in all the panels.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

This view is vindicated by the pessimistic interpretation of social choice that has just been described.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

However, a less pessimistic picture evolves when considering existing networks that had overcome regional differences to some extent.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Notwithstanding the negative and pessimistic arguments and experiences mentioned, an old and persistent belief in man's inclination toward justice survived.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A more pessimistic scenario examines possible outcomes in the absence of energy saving technological change and backstops fuels.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

But careful ecological-economic analysis might show my view of the potential of technological change to be too pessimistic.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

I would like to suggest that the data in table 2 underestimate the amount of directive, pessimistic counseling.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

One problem with using disaggregated data is the overly pessimistic tone of the contemporary literature.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The first direction is the utilization of multiple support thresholds with post-pruning methods such as database coverage and/or pessimistic error estimation.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The conclusion, in the fourth section, is partially but not entirely pessimistic.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The method used, holdout, is the most conservative, in that it maintains a pessimistic bias toward the results.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The conventional wisdom offers a pessimistic response to these questions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

However, there is no reason to be so pessimistic.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of pessimistic?

Translations of pessimistic

in Chinese (Traditional)

悲觀的…

Meaning of pessimistic in English

Related word

Examples of pessimistic

Translations of pessimistic

Browse

Learn more with +Plus

Learn more with +Plus