I would’ve hoped — I’m such an optimist — that a writer would know the difference between optimistic vs pessimistic.
Sure, a writer will vacillate between pessimism and optimism. It’s practically a job requirement. Hmmm, maybe this writer was flipping between the two so fast, they got confused.
An optimistic person sees life as a positive and doesn’t allow bad past experiences to influence their perception of the future. They tend to be more confident and see the possibilities in the future.
A pessimistic person sees life in the negative and their past experiences tend to influence how they see the future. They tend toward a less confident approach and see only problems ahead.
A canny writer will choose one or the other for part of a character’s personality to help flesh them out.
Word Confusions…
…started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noir for you from either end.
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| Optimistic | Pessimistic |
|---|---|
| Credit to: Apple Dictionary.com; Dictionary.com: optimistic, pessimistic; Lexico.com: optimistic, pessimistic | |
Life is Beautyful is under the CC0 license, via PxHere. — He is optimistic! |
Depression is under the CC0 license, via pxfuel. — …and he is definitely in a pessimistic mood. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective | Adjective |
Disposed to take a favorable view of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome
Reflecting a favorable view of events and conditions and the expectation of a positive outcome
Of or relating to hopefulness and confidence about the future |
Tending to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen
|
| Examples: | |
| The optimistic mood of the 60s held out so much hope.
He was optimistic about the deal. Previous estimates may be wildly optimistic. It was an optimistic plan. An optimistic estimate would probably be a couple of hundred pounds. The most optimistic estimates predict less than half this number will actually turn out. |
He was pessimistic about the prospects.
His pessimistic outlook kept him from applying for jobs for which he was perfectly qualified. The most pessimistic observers believe everything is stacking up for a crash. Civil War combat had hardened him to a pessimistic expectation of repeated failure. A spokesman for the thirteen workers involved in the dispute said they felt pessimistic about the prospect of a settlement. Scriptures based on true revelations are never melancholy, pessimistic, or depressing. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: antioptimistic, antioptimistical Adverb: antioptimistically, optimistically Noun: optimism, optimist |
Adjective: nonpessimistic, overpessimistic Adverb: nonpessimistically, pessimistically Noun: pessimism, pessimist |
| History of the Word: | |
| First recorded in 1840–50, optimist + -ic, from the French optimisme, which is from the Latin optimum meaning best thing. | First recorded in 1865–70, pessimist + -ic, from the Latin pessimus meaning worst. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan…which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them…and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions by exploring the index. You may also want to explore Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, and/or the Properly Punctuated.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
I do love and adore Dan Piraro’s work, as in Bizarro was uploaded 16 May 2018 by Nathan Hughes Hamilton is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr.
