Meaning of OPTIMISM
| Pronunciation: | | 'âpti`mizum
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 WordNet Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | |
- [n] a general disposition to expect the best in all things
- [n] the optimistic feeling that all is going to turn out well
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| | Antonyms: | | pessimism, pessimism | | |
| | See Also: | | disposition, hope, sanguineness, sanguinity, temperament | |
| Webster's 1913 Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | | \Op"ti*mism\, n. [L. optimus the best; akin to optio
choice: cf. F. optimisme. See {Option}.]
1. (Metaph.) The opinion or doctrine that everything in
nature, being the work of God, is ordered for the best, or
that the ordering of things in the universe is such as to
produce the highest good.
2. A disposition to take the most hopeful view; -- opposed to
{pessimism}.
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| Computing Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | | What a programmer is full of after fixing the last bug and just before actually discovering the *next* last bug. Fred Brooks's book "The Mythical Man-Month" contains the following paragraph that describes this extremely well. All programmers are optimists. Perhaps this modern sorcery especially attracts those who believe in happy endings and fairy god-mothers. Perhaps the hundreds of nitty frustrations drive away all but those who habitually focus on the end goal. Perhaps it is merely that computers are young, programmers are younger, and the young are always optimists. But however the selection process works, the result is indisputable: "This time it will surely run," or "I just found the last bug.". See also Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology. [Jargon File] |
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| Thesaurus Terms |
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| | Related Terms: | | blitheness, blithesomeness, bright outlook, bright side, brightness, buoyancy, cheer, cheerful expectation, cheerfulness, cheeriness, cheery vein, eupeptic mien, geniality, gladness, gladsomeness, good cheer, happiness, hope, hopefulness, idealism, Leibnizian optimism, millennialism, optimisticalness, perfectibilism, perfectionism, philosophical optimism, pleasantness, Pollyannaism, positivism, radiance, rosy expectation, rosy outlook, sanguine expectation, sanguine humor, sanguineness, sanguinity, silver lining, sunniness, utopianism, winsomeness |
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