# pessimism

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈpɛsɪmɪzəm/ · frequency rank #30,173

## Definitions
1. A general belief that bad things will happen.
2. The doctrine that this world is the worst of all possible worlds.
3. The condition of being pessimal.

## Etymology
From French pessimisme, from Latin pessimus (“worst”) + -ism, superlative of malus (“bad”).
As a doctrine, from German Pessimismus as used by the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer in 1819.

## Easily confused with
- **pessimist** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pessimism-vs-pessimist)

## Common misspellings (12)
`epssimism`, `pesimism`, `pesismism`, `pessiimsm`, `pessimims`, `pessimismm`, `pessimissm`, `pessimmism`, `pessimsim`, `pessmiism`, `ppessimism`, `psesimism`

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