optimist

noun

Definition of optimistnext
as in dreamer
a person who usually expects good things to happen You have to be a bit of an optimist to start a business. Somehow he remained an optimist despite all that had happened to him.

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of optimist Agell admits to being a chronic optimist but says this was never about one man. — Tamara Keith, NPR, 14 July 2026 Reading rates might fluctuate, but optimists argue that the long arc of history points toward universal literacy. — Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026 China has long been a nation of techno-optimists, and not just because software and engineering — from smartphones to high-speed trains to drone deliveries — have radically improved life across the country in the span of a single generation. — Andy Browne, semafor.com, 7 July 2026 In the great debate over how to address the national debt crisis, optimists suggest that expanding the economy is preferable to cutting federal spending. — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 2 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for optimist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for optimist
dreamer
Noun
  • According to Rouse, the album grew out of observations gathered while traveling, with its songs populated by drifters, dreamers and fleeting encounters that blur the line between fiction and autobiography.
    — SPIN Staff, SPIN, 4 Aug. 2026
  • But in recent history, the Spanish national soccer team has repeatedly wrecked the plans of dreamers and screenwriters.
    — Filip Bondy, New York Daily News, 19 July 2026
Definition of dreamer

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Cite this Entry

“Optimist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/optimist. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on optimist

Nglish: Translation of optimist for Spanish Speakers

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