as in optimistic
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as in optimist
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Recent Examples of Pollyanna
Stav Ziv, CNBC, 24 June 2025
But isn’t the cynical explanation also the Pollyanna one?
—Maya Singer, Vogue, 8 Jan. 2025
Informed hope is not a Pollyanna attitude, but balancing the realities of the situation with the positive things people are doing.
—Natalie Eilbert, Journal Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2024
Noun
Your options aren’t only ‘cynical’ or ‘naïve’ The opposite of a cynic is a Pollyanna.
—Stav Ziv, CNBC, 24 June 2025
But isn’t the cynical explanation also the Pollyanna one?
—Maya Singer, Vogue, 8 Jan. 2025
Informed hope is not a Pollyanna attitude, but balancing the realities of the situation with the positive things people are doing.
—Natalie Eilbert, Journal Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Pollyanna
Adjective
-
President Donald Trump, who calls FIFA President Gianni Infantino a friend, is optimistic about the global turnout for next year’s World Cup, even as his ongoing trade policies continue to impact a range of countries, several of which are expected to compete in the tournament.—
India Brown,
Robb Report,
22 July 2025
-
The team found that only pairs consisting of two optimistic participants had similar brain activation; pairs where one or both participants were more pessimistic were dissimilar to each other.—
Allison Parshall,
Scientific American,
21 July 2025
Noun
-
An optimist might say that perhaps people will become more sophisticated in their understanding of psychology.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
-
For one thing, Stevens has presented himself as an optimist during his entire Boston experience, beginning in 2013 when then-president of basketball operations Danny Ainge recruited him from Butler to coach the Celtics.—
Steve Buckley,
New York Times,
9 July 2025
Adjective
-
Priya’s husband and daughter remain in Kerala, hopeful for her release.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
15 July 2025
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That that resonates so powerfully with so many people across the world is in itself a hopeful testament to the kindness and quality of human beings.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
13 July 2025
Noun
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He’s got the twinkly eye and the sly, gregarious spiritual ease of a Micawber or a Cheeryble.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2024
-
The smallest of the Micawber brood glides away in his baby carriage, because the bailiff is dragging the hallway carpet out from under the front door.—
Josephine Livingstone,
The New Republic,
16 Sep. 2020
Noun
-
Superman has always been an idealist, and this film embraces that part of his character.—
Scott Phillips,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025
-
Culkin will star as Karl, a nervous young idealist who joins the staff of a high-security psychiatric Institute with good intentions, when he is assigned to care for one of its most dangerous inmates.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
30 June 2025
Noun
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Helping to deconstruct stereotypes and opening doors for the next generation of Black storytellers, actors, and dreamers.—
Doug Melville,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
-
The dreamer remains a great story, a football survivor.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
16 July 2025
Adjective
-
This year's projections are rosier in almost every regard.—
Alec Lewis,
New York Times,
25 July 2025
-
Young workers might be cautiously optimistic about AI today, but the prognosis for human intelligence further down the line is far less rosy.—
Victoria Usher,
Forbes.com,
23 July 2025
Noun
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For an unrivaled romantic (or solitary) escape, Mandapa’s 23 one-bedroom pool villas exude comfort and ambience galore.—
Alexandra Kirkman,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
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With so many Queen Anne and Regency buildings, this whole area screams period drama: channel your inner romantic with a visit to a historic home like Keats House (where poet John Keats lived) or Fenton House, with its picturesque walled garden.—
Emma John,
AFAR Media,
24 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pollyanna.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Pollyanna. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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