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optimist

noun

Simple meaning

Someone who expects a favourable outcome.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ahptuhmist

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɑptəmɪst

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A person who expects a favourable outcome.

  2. nautical

    A small centreboard sailing dinghy designed to train and introduce young children into sailing.

  3. A believer in optimism.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A person who expects a favourable outcome.

Used this way, optimist is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

optimist clubincurable optimistborn optimistconfirmed optimistincorrigible optimistgreat optimisttrue optimistfoolish optimist

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • optimismnounDerived noun

    The optimistic feeling that all is going to turn out well.

  • optimallyadverbDerived adverb

    In an optimal and most desirable way.

  • optimizeverbDerived verb

    Make optimal.

  • optimiseverbDerived verb

    Make optimal.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.