# pessimism vs pessimist

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### pessimism
*noun · IPA /ˈpɛsɪmɪzəm/ · frequency rank #30,173*
A general belief that bad things will happen.

### pessimist
*noun · IPA /ˈpɛsɪmɪst/ · frequency rank #43,309*
Someone who habitually expects the worst outcome; one who looks on the dark side of things.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pessimism-vs-pessimist