Skip to content
Vinony

pessimism

noun

  1. mental attitude and philosophical position that dwells on the dark or gloomy side of things, the world or the universe, culminating in a sense of their vanity and nothingness that is sometimes thought to render them unworthy of existence
L325351 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈpɛsɪmɪzəm/

noun

Etymology: 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.

  1. A general belief that bad things will happen.

    “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. The condition of being pessimal.