pure hopium
- noun
- Slang
:
optimismo irreal
- The investors realized that their hopes for a quick turnaround were based on pure hopium rather than realistic projections.
Examples
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Even when the project was failing, the team was running on pure hopium.
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His speech was filled with pure hopium rather than practical solutions.
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Believing the stock would triple overnight was just pure hopium, not sound investing.
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His belief in the project was just pure hopium.
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Don't fall for that pure hopium nonsense!
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Despite the mounting evidence against their plan, the group continued to thrive on pure hopium about success.
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Her optimism for the outcome of the negotiations felt like pure hopium without any basis in fact.
Synonyms
45
4.1
Believing something you want will happen even though it is unlikely
1
8.1
A feeling of happiness based on wrong hopes that will not last
An overly optimistic view that ignores real problems
An overly optimistic view that ignores real problems
An overly optimistic view that ignores real problems
An idea that things will always turn out well, even when there are problems
Antonyms
How Optimistic
Surface Forms
Morphology
pure + hopium
The phrase hinges on the slang nonce 'hopium' (a blend implying addictive or delusional hope) which is not a standard, decomposable English word; knowing 'pure' alone does not let a B1 learner infer this cultural/meme-based sense. Correct interpretation requires extra-world knowledge of internet slang and metaphorical blending, so the meaning is not derivable from the literal constituents.
Etymology
Pure hopium comes from a joke that mixes hope and opium, imagining a made-up drug that gives a high, addictive feeling of hope. With pure meaning 'not mixed', the image is someone on only that hope, so the phrase means strong, 'unrealistic' optimism that ignores the facts.