Panglossian

//pænˈɡlɑsi.ən// adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Naively or unreasonably optimistic. derogatory

    "Though he took a Panglossian view of the world in his youth, he became jaded as he grew older."

  2. 2
    Of or relating to the view that this is the best of all possible worlds. derogatory

Synonyms

All synonyms
artlesscallowchildlikeinnocentjejunenaive

Example

More examples

"Though he took a Panglossian view of the world in his youth, he became jaded as he grew older."

Etymology

From Dr. Pangloss, a character in Voltaire's Candide, + -ian.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.