1
as in cynic
one who emphasizes bad aspects or conditions and expects the worst
she's such a pessimist that she's convinced she'll fail every test
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2
as in misanthrope
a person who distrusts other people and believes that everything is done for selfish reasons
a true pessimist, he's convinced that there will be wars as long as there are people to wage them
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Recent Examples of pessimist
Yes, but: AGI is also not well-defined, and both optimists and pessimists have complained that it's become a moving goalpost.
—
Scott Rosenberg, Axios, 17 Jan. 2025
Optimists and pessimists Are scientists merely speculating?
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 14 Jan. 2025
Even as Ukrainians remained mostly optimistic about their country’s future, the proportion of pessimists had also grown to 28 percent from 19 percent in December 2023.
—Anton Grushetskyi, Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2024
Challenging pessimists on their investments is somewhat of a cheap shot.
—Bill Conerly, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Pessimist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pessimist. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.
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