pessimistic
/ˌpesəˈmɪstɪk/peh-suh-MIH-stik
/ˌpɛsəˈmɪstɪk/peh-suh-MIH-stik
Meaningrelating to expecting the worst
Common meaning: relating to pessimist
- pessimworstLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1363 · scan
- ista person who does or follows
- icadjective ending: relating to
Journey through time
- Latinpessimus, -a, -um‘worst’
- Englishpessimist‘one who expects the worst’
- Englishformed in English from pessimistpessimistic‘relating to pessimist’ · today
Sources & notes
Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: relating to expecting the worst. It can be inferred from any of: pessimist.
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from pessimist + -ic (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).
Roots
- pessimus, -a, -um Latin “worst”
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