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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Optimism \Op"ti*mism\, noun [L. optimus the best; akin to optio choice: cf. F. optimisme. See {Option}.]
1. (Metaph.) The opinion or doctrine that everything in nature, being the work of God, is ordered for the best, or that the ordering of things in the universe is such as to produce the highest good.
2. A habitual tendency or a present disposition to take the most hopeful view of future events, and to expect a favorable outcome even when unfavorable outcomes are possible; -- opposed to {pessimism}. [1913 Webster +PJC]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
optimism
noun
1: the optimistic feeling that all is going to turn out well [ant: {pessimism}]
2: a general disposition to expect the best in all things [ant: {pessimism}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
40 Moby Thesaurus words for "optimism": Leibnizian optimism, Pollyannaism, blitheness, blithesomeness, bright outlook, bright side, brightness, buoyancy, cheer, cheerful expectation, cheerfulness, cheeriness, cheery vein, eupeptic mien, geniality, gladness, gladsomeness, good cheer, happiness, hope, hopefulness, idealism, millennialism, optimisticalness, perfectibilism, perfectionism, philosophical optimism, pleasantness, positivism, radiance, rosy expectation, rosy outlook, sanguine expectation, sanguine humor, sanguineness, sanguinity, silver lining, sunniness, utopianism, winsomeness
From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:
optimism n. What a programmer is full of after fixing the last bug and before discovering the _next_ last bug. Fred Brooks's book "The Mythical Man-Month" (See "Brooks's Law") contains the following paragraph that describes this extremely well:
All programmers are optimists. Perhaps this modern sorcery especially attracts those who believe in happy endings and fairy godmothers. Perhaps the hundreds of nitty frustrations drive away all but those who habitually focus on the end goal. Perhaps it is merely that computers are young, programmers are younger, and the young are always optimists. But however the selection process works, the result is indisputable: "This time it will surely run," or "I just found the last bug.". See also {Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology}.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
optimism What a programmer is full of after fixing the last bug and just before actually discovering the *next* last bug. Fred Brooks's book "{The Mythical Man-Month}" contains the following paragraph that describes this extremely well. All programmers are optimists. Perhaps this modern sorcery especially attracts those who believe in happy endings and fairy god-mothers. Perhaps the hundreds of nitty frustrations drive away all but those who habitually focus on the end goal. Perhaps it is merely that computers are young, programmers are younger, and the young are always optimists. But however the selection process works, the result is indisputable: "This time it will surely run," or "I just found the last bug.". See also {Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology}. [{Jargon File}]
From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:
OPTIMISM, noun The doctrine, or belief, that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly, everything good, especially the bad, and everything right that is wrong. It is held with greatest tenacity by those most accustomed to the mischance of falling into adversity, and is most acceptably expounded with the grin that apes a smile. Being a blind faith, it is inaccessible to the light of disproof -- an intellectual disorder, yielding to no treatment but death. It is hereditary, but fortunately not contagious.
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