defeatist 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of defeatistnext
as in hopeless
emphasizing or expecting the worst your defeatist attitude is depressing everyone else on the team!

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

defeatist

2 of 2

noun

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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defeatist
  1. hopeless
  2. realist
  3. cynical
  4. cynic
  5. pessimistic
  6. pessimist
Adjective
  • The battle between parents and tech-savvy children over access to the Internet and apps might seem hopeless.
    Daniel de Visé, USA TODAY, 26 Dec. 2024
  • Burns is asked how to avoid feeling hopeless during a stretch like this.
    Dan Duggan, The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024
Definition of hopeless
Noun
  • Elsewhere, players might enjoy body-replicating madness, brutal climbing simulators, and freewheeling adventure through a magical realist take on the Deep South.
    Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2025
  • By the 1930s and throughout the 1940s, Benton became associated with Regionalism—among its devotees, Grant Wood—which rejected abstract expressionism and exalted realist representations of rural America.
    Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 23 Dec. 2024
Definition of realist
Adjective
  • Coming-of-age teen comedies were never quite as wonderfully cynical before this movie about four teenage girls whose lives are upended by the arrival of a new kid, played by Christian Slater.
    Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2025
  • Without any real prospect of serious concessions from Western states, the Taliban became cynical about ever gaining legitimacy on the world stage.
    Delaney Simon, Foreign Affairs, 2 Jan. 2025
Definition of cynical
Noun
  • In the verses, Bradley Cooper and Gaga’s lyrics and vocal lines are mirrored — two world-weary cynics serenading each other.
    Kristen S. Hé, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2024
  • Into this void emerge the cynics and the snake-oil merchants, the dreamers, the circumventers, the guileful peddlers of One Weird Tricks.
    Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 16 Dec. 2024
Definition of cynic
Adjective
  • Unlike Celeste, and unlike Howard Roark in Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, who stood for the artist’s right to individual integrity, Toth’s psychosis derives from a pessimistic view of history.
    Armond White, National Review, 3 Jan. 2025
  • More specifically about Matheson’s father, his son writes at various times of how pessimistic his dad was.
    John Tamny, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025
Definition of pessimistic
Noun
  • Even as Ukrainians remained mostly optimistic about their country’s future, the proportion of pessimists had also grown to 28 percent from 19 percent in December 2023.
    Anton Grushetskyi, Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2024
  • Challenging pessimists on their investments is somewhat of a cheap shot.
    Bill Conerly, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024
Definition of pessimist
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near defeatist

defeatism

defeatist

defeatists

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Defeatist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defeatist. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

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