From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpessimisticpes‧si‧mis‧tic /ˌpesəˈmɪstɪk◂/ ●○○ adjective EXPECTexpecting that bad things will happen in the future or that something will have a bad result OPP optimistic a pessimistic view of lifepessimistic about He remains deeply pessimistic about the peace process. —pessimistically /-kli/ adverbTHESAURUSpessimistic expecting that bad things will happen, or that someone will be unsuccessfulHe was pessimistic about the team’s chances of winning the championship.a pessimistic view of human naturedownbeat having an attitude that is not hopeful and not expecting success, or not expecting the situation to improve, especially the economic or political situationThe overall mood in the stock market is decidedly downbeat.The chairman made some downbeat remarks about the company’s sales performance.His assessment of the UK’s economic prospects is generally downbeat.gloomy not having much hope for the futureEnvironmental groups are gloomy about the future of our planet.The article painted a gloomy picture of the human rights situation in Burma.negative considering only the bad qualities of a situation, person etc, and not the good onesHis negative attitude towards work was affecting his colleagues.Why are you always so negative? fear the worst formal to expect a situation to have the worst possible result, because you know how bad the situation could beI hadn’t heard any news from her for over a week, and I was starting to fear the worst.somebody’s glass is half empty informal used about people who only see the bad qualities of a situation, even when other people might see better qualities in the same situationHe’s one of those people whose glass is always half empty.
Examples from the Corpus
pessimistic• The first is somewhat misleading; the second is certainly wrong; and the third, unduly pessimistic.• George is quite realistic throughout the book and is in some cases, justifiably pessimistic.• But Republican leaders were pessimistic about a speedy resolution.• He's quite pessimistic about his chances of getting another job.• When you are pessimistic and expect the worst, your attitude is often negative.• Stock and bond markets, already weak, fell further after the pessimistic comments were carried on news wires.• He was morose, pessimistic, obsessed with achieving the perfect style.• Essentially, the medical approach has painted a pessimistic picture.• Beron is pessimistic that a peaceful solution can be found.• That's a very pessimistic view.• Some environmentalists take a more pessimistic view.• Don't be too pessimistic - we may still win the game.pessimistic about• Investment analysts are extremely pessimistic about the economic outlook. 