pessimism

From French pessimisme, from Latin pessimus (“worst”) +‎ -ism, superlative of malus (“bad”). As a doctrine, from German Pessimismus as used by the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer in 1819.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛsɪmɪzəm/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

pessimism (usually uncountable, plural pessimisms)

1. A general belief that bad things will happen.

   Hyponym: declinism

   • 2017 January 19, Peter Bradshaw, “T2 Trainspotting review – choose a sequel that doesn't disappoint”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     T2 isn’t as good as T1: it is a little too long and unwinds a bit into caper sentimentality, broad comedy and self-mythologising. But it has the same punchy energy, the same defiant pessimism, and there’s nothing around like it. This sequel was a high-wire act, but Boyle has made it to the other side.

2. The doctrine that this world is the worst of all possible worlds.
3. (computing) The condition of being pessimal.

• optimism

• Afro-pessimism
• cultural pessimism
• ecopessimism
• Judeopessimism

• pessimist
• pessimistic

• “pessimism”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “pessimism”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “pessimism”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

pessimism c

1. pessimism; a general belief that bad things will happen

   Antonym: optimism

• pessimist
• pessimistisk

• pessimism in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• pessimism in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• pessimism in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)