Pessimistic

How to spell pessimistic

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce pessimistic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does pessimistic mean?

1. adjectiveTending to expect the worst outcome or to focus on the negative side of a situation.

Pessimistic in a sentence

• The finance team grew pessimistic about meeting the quarterly targets.

• He felt pessimistic about his chances after the disappointing interview.

Where does pessimistic come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin pessimus, the superlative form meaning 'worst', the same root that gives us the noun 'pessimism'. The term entered modern European thought in the late 1700s and early 1800s when philosophers contrasted optimism, the belief that this is the best of all possible worlds, with its gloomy opposite. English adopted 'pessimism' from the French pessimisme around the early nineteenth century, and the adjective 'pessimistic' followed soon after, built with the familiar -istic ending seen in words like 'realistic' and 'idealistic'. Because the spelling preserves the Latin double 's' of pessimus, the trap is the single 'm' that follows; writers often want to double the 'm' by analogy with the noun's pronunciation, but only the 's' is doubled.

How the word is built

• pessim- (from Latin pessimus: worst)
• -ist (one who holds a view)
• -ic (adjective suffix)