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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

glass-half-empty en · ADJ

Pronunciation

Etymology

From the expression "Is the glass half empty or half full?", the answer to which is said to determine whether a person is optimistic or pessimistic.

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic, not-comparable, of a person) pessimistic
    • Susan Kropf, the company's president and chief operating officer, says that while the management team is “by nature optimistic,” there is a “glass half empty kind of mentality.” Says Kropf. “We always think about what more we could have done, or how we could have done it better.” 2006, Laura Klepacki, Avon: Building The World's Premier Company For Women:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
glass half empty alternative lexicographic

Antonyms

glass-half-full

wikipedia: Is the glass half empty or half full?