Optimist

//ˈɑptɪmɪst// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A person who expects a favourable outcome.

    "We are becoming as a nation, as a world, indeed, atom-conscious. Many of us are already afflicted with atomphobia, though so far it has manifested itself only in a mirage of autoaeromotive discs and a war of words between chronic optimists and empirical pessimists concerning civilization’s probable future."

  2. 2
    A small centreboard sailing dinghy designed to train and introduce young children into sailing.
  3. 3
    a person disposed to take a favorable view of things wordnet
  4. 4
    A believer in optimism.

Example

More examples

"The optimist looks into a mirror and becomes more optimistic, the pessimist more pessimistic."

Etymology

From French optimiste, from Latin optimus (“best”) + -ist.

Related phrases

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