Pessimism

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pessimism \Pes"si*mism\, n. [L. pessimus worst, superl. of pejor
     worse: cf. F. pessimisme. Cf. {Impair}.]
     1. (Metaph.) The opinion or doctrine that everything in
        nature is ordered for or tends to the worst, or that the
        world is wholly evil; -- opposed to {optimism}.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. A disposition to take the least hopeful view of a
        situation.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  pessimism
       n 1: the feeling that things will turn out badly [ant: {optimism}]
       2: a general disposition to look on the dark side and to expect
          the worst in all things [ant: {optimism}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  49 Moby Thesaurus words for "pessimism":
     Schmerz, Slough of Despond, anxiety, apprehension,
     blank despondency, cliff-hanging, cynicism, death wish, defeatism,
     dejectedness, dejection, depression, despair, despondency,
     despondentness, discouragement, disheartenment, dismalness,
     dispiritedness, down trip, downcastness, downer, downheartedness,
     dread, drooping spirits, expectant waiting, gloominess,
     gloomy outlook, heartlessness, hopelessness, low spirits, lowness,
     lowness of spirit, malaise, malism, negativism, nihilism,
     oppression, retreatism, self-destructive urge, sinking heart,
     spiritlessness, suicidal despair, suspense, taedium vitae,
     uncertainty, uncheerfulness, waiting, weariness of life
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  PESSIMISM, n.  A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the
  observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his
  scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile.