optimism
- 01 B1 Intermediate
a feeling that good things will happen or that a situation will be successful.
a general tendency to expect the best possible outcome or to dwell on the most hopeful aspects of a situation.
Simple“Despite the difficult news, she maintained her optimism about the future of the company.”
In context“Market analysts expressed cautious optimism that the new fiscal policy would eventually stabilise the volatile currency.”
Synonyms - 02 C2 Proficiency
the belief that the world we live in is the best one possible.
the philosophical doctrine that this world is the best of all possible worlds, or that good will ultimately prevail over evil.
Simple“The professor explained the history of optimism as a religious and philosophical theory.”
In context“Voltaire's 'Candide' serves as a biting satire of the blind optimism championed by certain eighteenth-century philosophers.”
UsageOften used as an uncountable noun in this abstract sense.
Synonymsleibnizianism
“The political terrain on trade today is far different than it was amid the premature optimism of last fall.”
“Optimism was back at last, on and off the pitch.”
From French optimisme, equivalent to Latin optimus + -ism.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.