Dictionary

pessoptimist en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /pɛsˈɒptɪmɪst/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /pɛsˈɑptɪmɪst/ (General-American)

Etymology

Blend of pessimist + optimist, coined by British translator Trevor LeGassick in his 1985 translation of Emile Habibi's 1974 Arabic-language novel The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist.

Meanings

1. A person who possesses elements of both pessimism and optimism.
   • There are those that have combined pessimism and optimism, giving rise to “The Pessoptimist.” It is the unfiltered thought and transparent conflict in the minds of today’s well-intentioned common human. A condition where one’s afflicted with seeing the worst while trying to do what seems right. We can call it discouraged encouragement. 2023, Terry Lee Murphy, Umbrella Analysis, Ankeny, Iowa, →ISBN, page 80:
   • The paradoxical view of the dynamics of the situation explains the meaning of the word “pessoptimist,” coined from the partial merger of “optimist” and “pessimist.” 2001, Emile Habibi, translated by Trevor LeGassick, Salma Khadra Jayyusi, The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist, Interlink Books, →ISBN, page xiii:
   • To put it simply, China is a pessoptimist nation. To understand China’s glowing optimism, we need to understand its enduring pessimism, and vice versa. 2010, William A. Callahan, China: The Pessoptimist Nation, Oxford University Press, →DOI, →ISBN, page 9:

Forms

wikipedia: Bloomsbury Publishing