optimistic
/ˌɑptɪˈmɪstɪk/adjective
optimistic is spelled O-P-T-I-M-I-S-T-I-C: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, optimistic means “Expecting the best in all possible ways” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in optimistic?
| Letters | 10: O-P-T-I-M-I-S-T-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.4 times per million words; the 8,669th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is optimistic?
Optimistic appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce optimistic?
- UK /ˌɒptɪˈmɪstɪk/
- US /ˌɑptɪˈmɪstɪk/
- US /ˌɑptəˈmɪstɪk/
Optimistic has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-optimistic.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with optimistic?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as optimistic from its last stressed vowel (/ɪstɪk/):
- artistic
- characteristic
- linguistic
- autistic
- futuristic
- holistic
- narcissistic
- logistic
- opportunistic
- antagonistic
- altruistic
- deterministic
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of optimistic
- more optimistic comparative
- most optimistic superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does optimistic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Expecting the best in all possible ways.
in an optimistic mood
- 2
Allowing other processes to perform transactions on the same data at the same time, and checking for conflicts only when changes need to be written back.
optimistic concurrency
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Optimistic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense expecting a good outcome:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | optimiste |
| German | optimistisch |
| Portuguese | otimista |
| Spanish | optimista |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.