pessim-

The notion that the future of Africa is bleak because of the multitudes of problems faced by the continent.

1. An organism's least favorable environment for survival.
2. Maximally bad; worst, or least idealistic: "This is an unacceptable pessimal situation."

1. A general disposition to look on the dark side and to expect the worst in all things.
2. A tendency to see only the negative or worst aspects of all things and to expect only bad or unpleasant things to happen.
3. A tendency to stress the negative or unfavorable or to take the gloomiest possible view of a situation.
4. The doctrine about evil which is a doctrine that all things become evil or that evil outweighs good in life.
5. A melancholy habit of mind characterized by an inclination to believe that the uncertainties of the present will end badly.

It is considered a common manifestation of depression.

6. The general feeling that things will turn out badly.

1. Someone who always expects the worst to happen: A pessimist never expects anything to turn out well.
2. A person who habitually sees or anticipates the bad situations or is disposed to be gloomy: Pessimists see the world as excessively cruel in many ways.
3. Etymology: from Latin pessimus, "worst". © ALL rights are reserved.

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1. Characteristic of someone whose views have or show a lack of hope for the future: The weather conditions involving the severe dust storms have resulted in pessimistic beliefs by the people who live there and that they will be miserable for some days.
2. A reference to, or characterizing a person's state of mind which is gloomy or disappointed: Sharon has a pessimistic outlook about her daughter's marriage.

His pessimistic expectations kept Frank from applying for jobs for which he was perfectly qualified.

3. Etymology: from Latin pessimus, "worst." © ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

A reference to the tendency to emphasize or to think of the bad part of a situation rather than the good part, or the feeling that bad things are more likely to happen than pleasant things: Kate pessimistically invited members of her class to come to her birthday party.

To promote, or to advocate, the doctrine of pessimism.

A reference to an organism's environment which is considered to be least favorable for survival.

A description of a tendency to believe that life has negative values, or that this world is as bad as it can possibly be: There are some people who advocate philosophical pessimism and are convinced that life's existence in the world is full of pains and suffering, and that life is totally meaningless and without purpose.

1. A disbelief in the curative virtues of medical remedies in general and especially of drugs.
2. An inclination to believe that a particular method of medical treatment will not produce any effective improvement.