upbeat

[uhp-beet] /ˈʌpˌbit/

noun, Music.

an unaccented beat, especially immediately preceding a downbeat.

the upward stroke with which a conductor indicates such a beat.

adjective

optimistic; happy; cheerful:

television dramas with predictably upbeat endings.

Origin

1865-70; 1950-55 for def 3; up- + beat

Examples from the web for upbeat

Or you may feel guilty for not acting upbeat or cheerful.
He's not comforted by the upbeat, concluding note pointing out dinosaurs' evolutionary connection to today's birds.
But the electric-car industry, which is relying on other federal incentives to get ahead, remains upbeat.
But no, she was her upbeat, smiling self at the workshop this week.
He has an upbeat spirit that is truly indefatigable-even a blast of squid ink to the face won't put him off.
Despite five decades of null results and chronic underfunding, he and his colleagues are more upbeat than ever.
Strange that something commonly generating such awful experiences should have elicited so many upbeat testimonials.
Her rhythms were upbeat dance tempos with strong rock undercurrents.
The music is upbeat and the dancers extremely energetic, their costumes beautiful.
With solder science solidifying and the laser technology tuning up, proponents of tissue welding are upbeat.

British Dictionary definitions for upbeat

upbeat

/ˈʌpˌbiːt/

noun

(music)

a usually unaccented beat, esp the last in a bar
the upward gesture of a conductor's baton indicating this Compare downbeat

an upward trend (in prosperity, etc)

adjective

(informal) marked by cheerfulness or optimism

Word Origin and History for upbeat

adj.

"with a positive mood," 1947, apparently from the musical noun upbeat (1869), referring to the beat of a bar at which the conductor's baton is in a raised position; the "optimistic" sense apparently for no other reason than that it sounds like a happy word (the musical upbeat is no more inherently "positive" than any other beat). Expression on the upbeat "improving, getting better" is recorded from 1934.

Slang definitions & phrases for upbeat

upbeat

adjective

Optimistic; encouraging; positive: They use catchy, upbeat phrases/ A triumph of upbeat pictures over the downbeat

[1947+; apparently fr the musical term upbeat, ''a beat on which a conductor raises his baton,'' but since such beats have no emotional connotations, the coiner must have seized on the general positive notion of up and taken beat to mean ''stroke, movement'']