PESSIMISM Synonyms: 76 Similar and Opposite Words

pessimism

noun

Definition of pessimism

as in desperation

a feeling or belief that bad things will happen in the future; a feeling or belief that what you hope for will not happen She has expressed pessimism over the outcome of the trial. Although the economy shows signs of improving, a sense of pessimism remains. He expressed his pessimism about politics and politicians.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of pessimism Curiosity will get you farther than optimism or pessimism alone. — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026 Workers on this Labor Day feel a growing sense of dissatisfaction and pessimism. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 7 Sep. 2026 What to do instead None of this is an argument for pessimism. — Jon Sabes, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026 The full story covers all 32 teams, with plenty of pessimism for the Falcons, Commanders and Browns. — Jacob Robinson, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pessimism

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pessimism

Noun

Without the timeout, where New York could have advanced the ball to midcourt, Stewart missed a desperation shot at the buzzer.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026
Yet seemingly out of desperation, the nominees also have included total head-scratchers like Coldplay, Florence + the Machine, Matchbox Twenty, the Eagles — the fuckin’ Eagles, man!

— Jem Aswad, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of desperation

Noun

Beat shows how so many of the sounds that were prevalent in the mid-’90s contained a unique, end-of-the century sadness.

— Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 4 Oct. 2026
People can experience grief, sadness, relief, conflict or combinations of these emotions after any pregnancy outcome.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of sadness

Noun

The tone creeps into despair as the scales fall from Sutskever’s eyes.

— E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
The cumulative effect of the bowl’s ambient violence (robbery, assault, and overdose abound) amounts to an open-air despair not unlike Fox News-style depictions of California as a wholesale war zone.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of despair

Noun

Because so many of Gunn’s friends died in San Francisco, a city where Gunn had found happiness and freedom, then these elegies are also a monument to a time of communal sorrow and mourning.

— Colm Tóibín, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Another decision that those who are rejected face, at least if anger is mixed in with sorrow, is where to direct that anger.

— George Loewenstein, Vogue, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of sorrow

Noun

The initiative’s goal is by 2030 to have empowered 3 million people to recognize the early signs of anxiety and depression, and take steps toward helping those.

— Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026
In addition to fentanyl, toxicology tests detected alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax; the muscle relaxant methocarbamol; and quetiapine, a medication primarily used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and, in some cases, depression.

— Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of depression

Noun

The punch-worthy parody of Altman’s characterization ramps up once he’s motivated to push back against — or trample over — the safety guardrails that Ilya prizes above all else, but so does the depth of his world-breaking cynicism.

— David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 6 Oct. 2026
Sigurd’s departure only deepens this cynicism, which Livia clings to for 27 years — until the pair reconnect on the phone for a truly excruciating conversation.

— Sam Worley, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of cynicism

Noun

The question for me is whether or not Lloyd will also manage to capture the melancholy of a deceptively serious play, notwithstanding its reputation.

— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026
On the one hand, there’s a fascination with collective joy and the forms of vernacular invention that aspire to it; on the other, there’s an underlying melancholy that points to the inevitability of isolation, an epistemology of loneliness.

— Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of melancholy

Browse Nearby Words

pesky

pessimism

pessimist

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“Pessimism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pessimism. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of pessimism

noun

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