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
  • China remains the second biggest market outside of North America, and there were two Hollywood titles in the Top 10 in 2024 — Godzilla x Kong and Alien: Romulus (contrary to 2023 which had none) — but folks are pessimistic that Hollywood will ever return to the heyday of 2012-2019 there.
    Nancy Tartaglione, Deadline, 15 Jan. 2025
  • Then there are the rankings that were right by being pessimistic, which isn’t as fun, but just as important.
    Eno Sarris, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
Definition of pessimistic
Noun
  • Yes, but: AGI is also not well-defined, and both optimists and pessimists have complained that it's become a moving goalpost.
    Scott Rosenberg, Axios, 17 Jan. 2025
  • Optimists and pessimists Are scientists merely speculating?
    Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 14 Jan. 2025
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 21 Jan. 2025.

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