panglossian means naively or unreasonably optimistic. It carries an Arena rating of 1474, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, panglossian ranks #106 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #626 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #1,035 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #1,178 of 17,163 for Funniest Words.
panglossian is pronounced /pænˈɡlɒsɪən/.
Why “panglossian” is a great word
Unreasonably optimistic to the point of dismissing all evidence of difficulty or harm, coined in 1759 by Voltaire. From the name Pangloss, a character in his satire *Candide*, itself from Greek *pan* ('all') and *glossa* ('tongue'), plus the English suffix *-ian*. Unlike 'realistic,' which weighs evidence, or 'cynical,' which preemptively doubts, panglossian is a stubborn, blind faith in a benevolent order. It is the investor who sees market collapse as a 'healthy correction,' the insistence that barbed wire is merely decorative, the sermon on providence delivered in the rubble—a testament not to hope, but to the insulation of a mind by its own dogma, a steady voice that says all is for the best even as the ground gives way.
Etymology
Pangloss (a character in Voltaire's Candide) + -ian
adj
- Naively or unreasonably optimistic.e.g.“Though he took a Panglossian view of the world in his youth, he became jaded as he grew older.”
- Of or relating to the view that this is the best of all possible worlds.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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