sloptimism en · NOUN
Etymology
Blend of slop + optimism.
Meanings
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(derogatory, slang, uncountable) Naive, unfounded, or overzealous optimism.
Pollyanna has found a successor, and the novel of sloptimism goes marching on!
1920 September 26, “Latest Works of Fiction”, in The New York Times, volume 69, number 22891, page 23:Optimism that is nothing but sentiment can be sloptimism.
1924 March 7, “Said In Passing”, in Kingston Daily Freeman, page 15:Let there be no more wavering between 'sloptimism' and 'floptimism' if we may be allowed such coinages!
1917 March 22, “The German Retreat”, in Portsmouth Daily Times, page 3:
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(derogatory, slang, uncountable) Excessive or misguided support for generative AI ("slop") and its future prospects.
Sloptimism thrives in a world where hype outpaces action, where the press release may come before the initiative, and where virality matters more than impact.
2025 February 25, Hugh Jeffery, “The Age of Sloptimism: How Spectacle Is Replacing Substance”, in Little Black Book:This is why AI content is becoming more associated with slop, because it lacks feeling or any semblance of human thought or consideration behind its endless proliferation. “Looks AI-generated” is the new “Walmart version”. Discourse about sloptimism* is already underway, as fears grow around AI content drowning out all other forms of content.
2025 March 25, Al Hassan Elwan, “The meme: What is dead may never die”, in Dazed MENA, number 1:He sees sloptimism as the symptom of culture and corporate collapsing into each other.
2026 March 1, Arianna Caserta, “On Corporate Aesthetics and Post-Internet Art”, in Institute of Network Culture: