pessimist
UK[ˈpesɪmɪst]US[ˈpesɪmɪst]
n
a person who tends to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen.
n
a person who believes that this world is as bad as it could be or that evil will ultimately prevail over good.
Morpheme Breakdown
pess
im
ist
pess
worst
im
most
ist
person who does or believes
Etymology
the word 'pessimist' is a modern philosophical term coined in the late 18th century from french 'pessimiste'. it is constructed directly from the latin root 'pessim-', the superlative form of 'malus' (bad), meaning 'the worst', combined with the agent suffix '-ist'. the literal construction means "a person who believes in the worst." this contrasts with 'optimist', built from latin 'optimus' (best). the term entered english to describe a specific philosophical stance, originally pertaining to the belief that the world is fundamentally evil or that life is inherently suffering, before broadening to describe a general disposition toward expecting negative outcomes.
Analysis
Structure: pess (worst) + im (most) + ist (person who does or believes)
pess: from latin 'pessimus', meaning 'worst'. serves as the root conveying the core concept of badness.
im: from latin superlative suffix '-imus', meaning 'most'. intensifies the root to mean 'the worst'.
ist: from greek '-istes', via latin '-ista', a suffix forming agent nouns, meaning 'a person who practices or believes in'.
Examples
despite the promising forecast, the pessimist in the group was convinced the picnic would be rained out.
as a philosophical pessimist, he found more truth in the writings of schopenhauer than in those of utopian thinkers.
her reputation as a pessimist was cemented when she predicted the project's failure from its very first day.