411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
Panglossian
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
English
2012 July 3 2013 July 3 2014 July 3 2015 July 3
Etymology
en Pangloss -ian a character in Voltaire's Candide''
Pronunciation
en /pænˈɡlɒsɪən/ RP
en LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Panglossian.wav Southern England
en /pænˈɡlɑsi.ən/ /pænˈɡlɔsi.ən/ GenAm
en ɔːsiən ɒsɪən
en Pan gloss i an
Adjective
en pejorative Naively or unreasonably optimistic.
en Panglossic Pollyannaish Thesaurus:naive
en Though he took a Panglossian view of the world in his youth, he became jaded as he grew older.
en 2010 Theodore Dalrymple Our Culture, What’s Left of It Nadelmann assumes that the number of potential addicts wouldn’t soar under considerably more liberal drug laws. I can’t muster such Panglossian optimism.
en pejorative Of or relating to the view that this is the best of all possible worlds.
Derived terms
en Panglossianism
Translations
naively or unreasonably optimistic
French: fr panglossien
German: de panglossisch
Portuguese: pt panglossiano
Spanish: es panglossiano
Swedish: sv panglossiansk rare
en eponyms
en Personality