as in hopeless
emphasizing or expecting the worst
your defeatist attitude is depressing everyone else on the team!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in realist
one who emphasizes bad aspects or conditions and expects the worst
we told her that if she was going to be such a defeatist, she should keep her thoughts to herself
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defeatist
Adjective
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But as dire as all of this is, the situation is not hopeless.—
Lawrence Norden,
TIME,
12 Feb. 2025 -
Cancer: Henry Roth from 50 First Dates As a hopeless romantic with a nurturing heart, Henry Roth embodies the personality traits of a Cancer.—
Athena Sobhan,
People.com,
11 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Using art to 'promote the richness and uniqueness of Black beauty' As a versatile impressionist and realist, Fatai's work has now been featured in exhibitions and museums within Nigeria and around the word.—
Caché McClay,
USA TODAY,
23 Jan. 2025
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But Moyes is a realist and knows the first task is simply to keep up a goal-shy Everton.—
Patrick Boyland,
The Athletic,
16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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He’s been given every reason to be angry, frustrated, and cynical, toward the specific people coming after him and the world at large.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
10 Feb. 2025
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Israel's President Isaac Herzog described the release ceremony as cynical and vicious.—
Hussam al-Masri,
USA TODAY,
10 Feb. 2025
Noun
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All one needs is to read the headlines today, 45 years down the road, to see that sometimes cynics have a point.—
George Monastiriakos,
Newsweek,
30 Dec. 2024
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The cynics say the wildfires are the death knell of the film business.—
Todd Heyman,
The Hollywood Reporter,
3 Sep. 2019
Adjective
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The Trump administration, however, had a more pessimistic view, pointing to an annual benchmark revision released Friday showing there were 589,000 fewer jobs added to the economy in 2024 than previously tallied.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN,
7 Feb. 2025
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The most pessimistic years have been the last two, when it was set at 90 seconds to midnight, in part because of global nuclear and political tensions, COVID-19, climate change and the threat of biological weapons.—
Elizabeth Weise,
USA TODAY,
25 Jan. 2025
Noun
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That downward trend has made pessimists out of the class of 2025.—
Christine Y. Cruzvergara,
Forbes,
23 Dec. 2024
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Van der Lugt thinks the pessimist’s is more motivating and sees a danger in the optimist’s, because if things look so generally bright, why should anyone get off the couch?—
Gal Beckerman,
The Atlantic,
22 Jan. 2025
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Thesaurus Entries Near defeatist
Cite this Entry
“Defeatist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defeatist. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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