pessimist
der Pessimist, die Pessimisten
Loading your saved state.
pessimist
A person who usually expects a bad outcome and mainly sees the negative sides of a situation.
Der Pessimist glaubt nicht, dass der Plan erfolgreich sein wird.
The pessimist does not believe that the plan will be successful.
| gender | masculine der |
|---|---|
| plural | die Pessimisten |
| genitive | des Pessimisten |
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | der Pessimist | die Pessimisten |
| accusative | den Pessimisten | die Pessimisten |
| dative | dem Pessimisten | den Pessimisten |
| genitive | des Pessimisten | der Pessimisten |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
'Pessimist' (pessimist) belongs to the word family of 'Pessimismus' (pessimism): the shared part 'Pessim-' helps you recognize the connection. The ending '-ist' refers to a person here, while 'Pessimismus' describes their attitude.
Als Pessimist fällt es ihm schwer, die Zukunft mit Zuversicht zu sehen.
As a pessimist, he finds it difficult to look to the future with confidence.
The pattern 'sich als Pessimist bezeichnen' (to describe oneself as a pessimist) can be used to describe one's own attitude. Because 'Pessimist' has weak declension, the form 'Pessimisten' is usually used after 'sich als'.
Mein Bruder bezeichnet sich selbst als Pessimisten.
My brother describes himself as a pessimist.
Common collocations include 'ein ausgesprochener Pessimist' (an out-and-out pessimist) and 'ein unverbesserlicher Pessimist' (an incorrigible pessimist). 'Unverbesserlich' makes the description especially emphatic and often sounds critical or humorous.
Du bist wirklich ein unverbesserlicher Pessimist: Selbst nach diesem Erfolg erwartest du schon das nächste Problem.
You really are an incorrigible pessimist: Even after this success, you are already expecting the next problem.
