optimistic

adjective

op·​ti·​mis·​tic ˌäp-tə-ˈmi-stik 

: of, relating to, or characterized by optimism : feeling or showing hope for the future

an optimistic outlook

an optimistic economic forecast

a person with a hopeful, optimistic nature

I'm feeling optimistic about our chances.

The streets in question were magnificent commercial thoroughfares, … brimming with heavy streams of eager life—young, fresh, optimistic.

—Theodore Dreiser

optimistically

ˌäp-tə-ˈmi-sti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

thinking optimistically about the future

an optimistically upbeat forecast

Optimistically, he anticipates that nuclear weapons … will never be used in war again …

—Russell F. Weigley

Synonyms of optimistic

• promising
• bright
• hopeful

Examples of optimistic in a Sentence

the economic predictions for the coming year are actually quite optimistic

Recent Examples on the Web

Ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting Saturday, the mood in the air was cautiously optimistic as new and returning investors weighed the company’s direction under a new chief executive. —Yun Li,alex Harring,sarah Min, CNBC, 2 May 2026

But Baranda was optimistic, and told me that the whale was lifting his head and looking up at the rescue crew curiously. —Jessica Camille Aguirre, New Yorker, 2 May 2026

Other economists are not so optimistic. —Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 2 May 2026

Blue Origin has a long way to go before achieving 100 New Glenn flights, and doing it within three years sounds overly optimistic. —Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 1 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

optimist + -ic entry 1

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for optimistic

• agonistic
• altruistic
• animistic
• aphoristic
• atheistic
• cabalistic
• calvinistic
• chauvinistic
• dualistic
• egoistic
• egotistic
• eucharistic

Kids Definition

optimistic

adjective

op·​ti·​mis·​tic

ˌäp-tə-ˈmis-tik

: showing optimism : expecting everything to come out all right : hopeful

optimistically

-ti-k(ə-)lē

adverb