Meaning & use
optimistic
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Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Hopeful and confident that something will succeed or that the future will be good.
Grammar: Has comparative forms: more optimistic, most optimistic; often followed by about or that.
Patterns
- be optimistic about something
- be optimistic that
- remain or feel optimistic
- an optimistic view of something
Doctors are optimistic about her recovery.
We are optimistic that sales will improve next quarter.
After the first rehearsal, the director felt cautiously optimistic.
Word forms
| comparative | more optimistic |
|---|---|
| superlative | most optimistic |
Common combinations
- cautiously optimistic
- The coach was cautiously optimistic after the narrow win.
- optimistic outlook
- An optimistic outlook helped the team keep working during delays.
- optimistic about the future
- Many graduates are optimistic about the future despite the slow job market.
- overly optimistic
- The budget was overly optimistic and left no money for repairs.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hopeful
- Broad and common; optimistic adds confidence that things will turn out well.
- positive
- Can describe attitude generally; optimistic is more specifically about expecting a good outcome.
- sanguine
- Formal and literary; suggests calm confidence even when others doubt.
- bullish
- Informal, often financial or business, meaning confidently expecting growth.
Opposites
Word family
- optimism noun
- The tendency to expect good outcomes.
- optimist noun
- A person who expects things to go well.
- optimistically adverb
- In a hopeful, confident way.
Commonly confused: optimistic or optimum?
optimistic vs optimum
Optimum means best or most favorable; optimistic describes a hopeful expectation, not the best condition itself.
Practice
Choose the best completion: She is optimistic ___ the interview results.
Choose one answer.
Optimistic is commonly followed by about for the thing expected to go well. Of can occur in phrases like confident of, but optimistic of is not the standard learner pattern here; with and against do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “optimistic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.