optimist

[op-tuh-mist] /ˈɒp tə mɪst/
noun
1.
an optimistic person.
2.
a person who holds the belief or the doctrine of optimism.
Origin
1760-70; < French optimiste < Latin optim(um) (see optimum) + French -iste -ist
Related forms
antioptimist, noun, adjective
overoptimist, noun
superoptimist, noun
Can be confused
cynic, optimist, pessimist, skeptic.
Examples from the web for optimist
  • But as one conference speaker put it, it is better to be an optimist and wrong than a pessimist and right.
  • Everyone's an optimist, so they blind themselves to downside risks.
  • Here is one optimist's reason for believing unity will prevail over disunity, integration over disintegration.
Word Origin and History for optimist
n.

1759, from French optimiste (1752); see optimism + -ist.