pessimism

English

Etymology

From French pessimisme, from Latin pessimus (“worst”), superlative of malus (“bad”). As a doctrine, from German Pessimismus as used by the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer in 1819.

Noun

pessimism (usually uncountable, plural pessimisms)

1. A general belief that bad things will happen.
2. The doctrine that this world is the worst of all possible worlds.
3. (computing) The condition of being pessimal.

Antonyms

• optimism

Related terms

• pessimist
• pessimistic

Derived terms

• cultural pessimism
• ecopessimism

Translations

general belief that bad things will happen

• Arabic: تَشَاؤُم‎ m (tašāʾum)
• Armenian: հոռետեսություն (hy) (hoṙetesutʿyun)
• Belarusian: песімі́зм m (pjesimízm)
• Bulgarian: песими́зъм (bg) m (pesimízǎm)
• Catalan: pessimisme (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 悲觀情緒, 悲观情绪 (bēiguān qíngxù)

• Czech: pesimismus (cs) m
• Dutch: pessimisme (nl) n
• Finnish: pessimismi (fi)
• French: pessimisme (fr) m
• Galician: pesimismo m
• Georgian: პესიმიზმი (ka) (ṗesimizmi)
• German: Pessimismus (de) m
• Greek: απαισιοδοξία (el) f (apaisiodoxía)
• Hindi: निराशावाद m (nirāśāvād)
• Hungarian: pesszimizmus (hu), borúlátás (hu)

• Italian: pessimismo (it) m
• Japanese: 悲観 (ja) (hikan), 悲観論 (hikanron), 厭世主義 (enseishugi)
• Korean: 비관 (ko) (bigwan), 염세주의 (ko) (yeomsejuui)
• Lü: ᦣᧆᦋᦲᧁ (hadtsiiw)
• Macedonian: песимизам m (pesimizam)
• Persian: بدبینی‎ (fa) (badbini)
• Portuguese: pessimismo (pt) m
• Romanian: pesimism (ro) n
• Russian: пессими́зм (ru) m (pessimízm)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: песимѝзам m

  Roman: pesimìzam (sh) m

• Spanish: pesimismo (es) m
• Swedish: pessimism (sv) c, svartsyn c
• Turkish: pesimizm (tr), kötümserlik (tr), karamsarlık (tr)
• Ukrainian: песимі́зм m (pesymízm)
• Volapük: badim (vo)

doctrine that this world is the worst of all possible worlds

• Arabic: تَشَاؤُم‎ m (tašāʾum)
• Armenian: հոռետեսություն (hy) (hoṙetesutʿyun)
• Catalan: pessimisme (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 悲觀主義 (zh), 悲观主义 (zh) (bēiguānzhǔyì)

• Finnish: pessimismi (fi)
• French: pessimisme (fr) m
• Galician: pesimismo m
• German: Pessimismus (de) m
• Hungarian: pesszimizmus (hu)

• Indonesian: pesimisme (id)
• Japanese: 悲観論 (hikanron)
• Portuguese: pessimismo (pt) m
• Russian: пессими́зм (ru) m (pessimízm)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: песимѝзам m

  Roman: pesimìzam (sh) m

• Thai: ทุทรรศนนิยม, ทุนิยม
• Turkish: pesimizm (tr), kötümserlik (tr), karamsarlık (tr)
• Volapük: badim (vo)

Further reading

• pessimism in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• pessimism in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911.
• pessimism at OneLook Dictionary Search

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Swedish

Noun

pessimism c

1. pessimism; a general belief that bad things will happen

Declension

Declension of pessimism
	Uncountable
	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	pessimism	pessimismen	—	—
Genitive	pessimisms	pessimismens	—	—

Antonyms

• optimism

Related terms

• pessimist
• pessimistisk