Definition
A person who tends to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen. Someone who habitually expects bad outcomes.
Etymology
From French pessimiste, coined in the 18th century from Latin pessimus meaning 'worst' (superlative of malus 'bad'). The philosophical term was popularized by Voltaire when discussing the philosophy of whether this is the best or worst of all possible worlds.
Kelly Says
The word 'pessimist' was actually invented as a response to Leibniz's optimistic philosophy that 'this is the best of all possible worlds.' French philosophers needed a term for the opposite viewpoint, creating 'pessimiste' from the Latin superlative form. Ironically, the word's creation was itself an optimistic act - believing that naming negativity might help us better understand and address it.
Translations
ARالعربية
متشائم
mutašāʾim
BNবাংলা
নিরাশাবাদী
nirāśābādī
CSČeština
pessimista
pɛsɪˈmɪsta
DADansk
pessimist
pʰɛsɪˈmɪst
DEDeutsch
Pessimist
pɛsɪˈmɪst
ELΕλληνικά
πessimιστής
pesimistís
ESEspañol
pesimista
peˈsimista
FAفارسی
پسی میست
pesimist
FISuomi
pessimisti
ˈpɛsimisti
FRFrançais
pessimiste
pɛsɪmɪst
HIहिन्दी
निराशावादी
nirāśāvādī
HUMagyar
pesszimista
pɛsːiˈmista
IDBahasa Indonesia
pesimis
pɛsɪˈmis
ITItaliano
pessimista
peʃˈsiːmista
JA日本語
悲観主義者
hikankishugisha
MSBahasa Melayu
pesimis
pɛsɪˈmis
MYမြန်မာ
စိတ်နုံ့
sɛɪʔ noʊn
NLNederlands
pessimist
pɛsɪˈmɪst
NONorsk
pessimist
pɛsɪˈmɪst
PLPolski
pessimista
pɛsɪˈmɪsta
PTPortuguês
pessimista
pɛsɪˈmɪʃtɐ
RORomână
pessimist
pesiˈmist
RUРусский
пессимист
pɛsɪˈmʲist
SVSvenska
pessimist
pɛsɪˈmɪst
SWKiswahili
mhasiri
mhaˈsiri
TAதமிழ்
எதிர்மறைவாதி
etirmaraivāti
TEతెలుగు
నిరాశావాది
nirāśāvādi
THไทย
คนมองโลกในแง่ลบ
kʰon˧.mɔ̄ːk˧.loːk˧.nɯː˧.lɛk˧.lɔp
TLTL
pessimista
pɛsɪˈmɪsta
TRTürkçe
kötümser
køtymˈsɛr
UKУкраїнська
песиміст
pesymist
VITiếng Việt
người bi quan
ŋɨə˧˧ bi˧˧ kwaːn
ZH中文
悲观主义者
bēi guān zhǔ yì zhě