Meaning & use
cautious optimism
Last updated
UK/ˌkɔːʃəs ˈɒptɪmɪzəm/
US/ˌkɔːʃəs ˈɑːptɪmɪzəm/
Meaning
noununcountable
A hopeful attitude combined with a recognition that things could still go wrong.
Grammar: Uncountable, so no a: She expressed cautious optimism.
Patterns
- express cautious optimism about something
- with cautious optimism
Doctors expressed cautious optimism about the new treatment.
Investors view the market with cautious optimism.
There is cautious optimism that the talks will succeed.
Common combinations
- express cautious optimism
- The coach expressed cautious optimism before the final.
- cautious optimism about something
- There is cautious optimism about the economy.
- view with cautious optimism
- Residents view the plan with cautious optimism.
- a note of cautious optimism
- The report ended on a note of cautious optimism.
Synonyms and how they differ
- guarded hope
- Guarded hope stresses holding back feelings, while cautious optimism more clearly expects a good result.
- qualified optimism
- Qualified optimism sounds more formal and suggests stated conditions.
- confidence
- Confidence lacks the doubt that cautious optimism includes.
Opposites
Word family
- cautious adjective
- careful to avoid risk
- cautiously adverb
- in a careful way
- optimistic adjective
- hopeful about the future
- optimist noun
- a hopeful person
Commonly confused: cautious optimism or blind optimism?
cautious optimism vs blind optimism
Blind optimism ignores risks, while cautious optimism keeps them in mind.
Practice
Which describes cautious optimism?
Choose one answer.
It combines hope with awareness of risk. Total certainty would be confidence, and expecting the worst is pessimism.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cautious optimism”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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