Pollyannish

9.9

Being very hopeful even when things seem bad

adjective
/ˌpɑːliˈænɪʃ/

: Pollyanna

Many found her Pollyannish attitude unrealistic, especially in light of the recent setbacks.

He is not somebody who has a, you know, sort of Pollyannish view on the nature of the world.

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Examples

That's why virtue so often is Pollyannish, what people call virtue signaling, right?
And not to be too Pollyannish about it, your attitude does determine how you perform.
He is not somebody who has a, you know, sort of Pollyannish view on the nature of the world.

Gregory B. Sadler - That Philosophy Guy
OK, let me give a, a, a last little Pollyannish blurb about what we should do about these various problems.
And if you think that that's not so, then you're ignorant or you're just Pollyannish and have no idea what's actually possible out there.

Danny Jones
Despite the criticism, she maintained a Pollyannish belief that everything would work out in the end.
His Pollyannish outlook on life often led him to overlook serious challenges.

Synonyms

optimistic

vsPollyannish

426 3.2

Expecting good things to happen in the future

is more extreme and often unrealistic rather than generally hopeful

upbeat

vsPollyannish

99 3.8

Feeling cheerful and hopeful, sometimes too positive for the situation

is more extreme and naive rather than a simple cheerful outlook

rosy

vsPollyannish

26 3.2

Expecting good things in the future

is stronger, portraying unrealistic and naive optimism rather than mild hope

sanguine

vsPollyannish

10 7.4

Cheerful and hopeful in a difficult situation

is less grounded, tending toward naive and unrealistic optimism

starry-eyed

vsPollyannish

Informal

6 6.9

Being too hopeful and not seeing real problems

is equally naive but a bit more gentle and constant

glass-half-full

vsPollyannish

Informal

3 5.8

Seeing the good side of things

is more extreme and often naively optimistic rather than merely positive

rose-colored

vsPollyannish

Informal

2 5.6

A view that is too hopeful and ignores problems

leans more toward simple naive cheer rather than broad idealism

overoptimistic

vsPollyannish

1 5.1

Expecting only very good results that are unlikely to happen

is similar but emphasizes a consistently naive cheerful stance

Panglossian

vsPollyannish

Literature

1 9.9

Very optimistic in a way that ignores real problems

is similarly unrealistic but framed as general naive cheerfulness

Pollyannaish

vsPollyannish

9.9

Being too hopeful about things and not seeing clear problems

is identical in meaning but uses a different spelling

Antonyms

realistic

283 3.7

Having sensible ideas about what can be achieved

cynical

208 6.5

Not trusting people to have good intentions and expecting them to act for themselves

pessimistic

67 3.9

Expecting bad things to happen in the future

Compounds

Pollyannish approach

9.6

An overly hopeful way of dealing with problems that ignores bad signs

Pollyannish perspective

9.2

An overly optimistic view that ignores real problems

How Optimistic

Pollyannish

9.9

overoptimistic

1 5.1

optimistic

426 3.2

cheerful

111 1.0

Surface Forms

Pollyannish positive

Morphology

Pollyannish = Pollyanna (semi-transparent) = Pollyanna + ish

The suffix '-ish' transparently means 'like' or 'characteristic of', but understanding the specific trait requires knowledge of the fictional Pollyanna, which many learners may not have.

Etymology

Pollyannish comes from the name Pollyanna, a girl in a children's book who always played the 'glad game' to find something good in every situation, and from the ending -ish. So Pollyannish, with the ending -ish, means being 'optimistic' in a way that seems too simple or naive.