What is another word for Pollyanna?

Pronunciation: [pˌɒlɪˈanə] (IPA)

Pollyanna is an adjective used to describe someone who is overly optimistic and optimistic to the point of being naive. Some synonyms for Pollyanna are idealistic, sanguine, upbeat, hopeful, and positive. The word Pollyanna is derived from a book published in 1913 by Eleanor H. Porter. The protagonist of the book, Pollyanna, plays the "Glad Game," a game in which she looks for the positive in every situation. While being positive is a good attribute, being too optimistic can lead to ignoring potential obstacles and negative situations. Using these synonyms can help to describe someone's positive attitude without implying naivete.

What are the hypernyms for Pollyanna?

A hypernym is a word with a broad meaning that encompasses more specific words called hyponyms.

What are the opposite words for Pollyanna?

The word Pollyanna refers to a person who is excessively optimistic, always seeing the positive in any situation, even when it may not be warranted or appropriate. Antonyms for Pollyanna, on the other hand, refer to someone who is pessimistic or negative. Synonyms of Pollyanna include naive, idealistic, and overly positive. Antonyms of Pollyanna include cynic, pessimistic, negative, and realist. While it's important to maintain a positive outlook on life, being too Pollyannaish can lead to disappointment and frustration. It's important to be honest and realistic about situations, while also finding a happy medium between optimism and realism.

Usage examples for Pollyanna

By Author of "Pollyanna."
"The Law-Breakers"
Ridgwell Cullum
It takes the tact of a diplomat, the nerve of a trapeze performer, the physical strength of a prize fighter, the optimism of William J. Bryan or of Pollyanna, and the wisdom of Solomon.
"The Book of Business Etiquette"
Nella Henney
I suppose that the Pollyanna of the camping party is constantly sending up three smokes in a row on the slightest provocation, and then when the rest of the outfit have raced across country for miles to find out what the good news is she probably shows them, with great enthusiasm, that some fringed gentians are already in blossom or that the flicker's eggs have hatched.
"Love Conquers All"
Robert C. Benchley

Famous quotes with Pollyanna

  • If the prime directives were followed a little more accurately here on earth, I mean it sounds somewhat Pollyanna, but I think people would certainly get along better.
    Jonathan Frakes
  • Look, I hate to sound like Pollyanna, but I literally can't wait to get to work in the morning. I've got steady jobs, I've got my health, and I'm here in the greatest city in the world. I'd be a pig not to be grateful.
    Christopher Meloni
  • My relationship with "Pollyanna" is a very personal one, because Pollyanna got me through my childhood.
    Eleanor Porter
  • Why the fiction of ideas should be so neglected is beyond me. I can’t explain it, except in terms of intellectual snobbery. … If I’d found out that Norman Mailer liked me, I’d have killed myself. I think he was too hung up. I’m glad Kurt Vonnegut didn’t like me either. He had problems, terrible problems. He couldn’t see the world the way I see it. I suppose I’m too much Pollyanna, he was too much Cassandra. Actually I prefer to see myself as the Janus, the two-faced god who is half Pollyanna and half Cassandra, warning of the future and perhaps living too much in the past — a combination of both. But I don’t think I’m overoptimistic.
    Ray Bradbury
  • I do hereby and forever abandon abandoning all hope. Honestly, I give up on giving up. I'm just not cut out to be some hopeless, disillusioned wretch with no aspirations for the rest of the eternity, sprawled catatonic in my own feces on a cold stone floor. In all probability the Human Genome Project will, someday, find that I carry some recessive gene for optimism, because despite all my best efforts I still can't scrape together even a couple of days of hopelessness. Future scientists would call it Pollyanna Syndrome, and if forced to guess, I'd say that mine has been a way-long case of history chasing rainbows.
    Chuck Palahniuk

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