One who is persistently cheerful and optimistic, even when given cause not to be so.
Used in a Sentence
pollyanna
Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for pollyanna.
Editorial note
You are right, there is a dark side to entrepreneurial ambition and Pollyanna should be tarred and feathered.
Examples19
Definitions4
Parts of speech1
Quick take
One who is persistently cheerful and optimistic, even when given cause not to be so.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of pollyanna gathered in one view.
A female given name from Hebrew derived from Polly and Anna; rare in the real world.
Alternative form of Pollyanna. [A female given name from Hebrew derived from Polly and Anna; rare in the real world.]
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for pollyanna.
noun
One who is persistently cheerful and optimistic, even when given cause not to be so.
noun
A female given name from Hebrew derived from Polly and Anna; rare in the real world.
noun
Alternative form of Pollyanna. [A female given name from Hebrew derived from Polly and Anna; rare in the real world.]
noun
(colloquial, Mid-Atlantic US, Southeastern Pennsylvania) A secret Santa gift exchange.
Example sentences
You are right, there is a dark side to entrepreneurial ambition and Pollyanna should be tarred and feathered.
One of the pollyanna assumptions of the singularity crowd is that AI would necessarily be rational.
The Pollyanna view that jobs will appear by magic, in exactly the right number for the population, is a 'utopian' view.
It's completely understandable that you'd rather live in your Pollyanna fantasy world, and that's fine.
Returning to a Pollyanna view of a perfect agrarian society of cows fertilizing humble fields of vegetables, would result in widespread shortages.
Yes in a Pollyanna ideal world you could choose what worked in hindsight.
I find it kind of amazing how pollyanna many techies' view is of their own industry.
These rah-rah pollyanna stories never take things like inflation into account.
When it comes to your own life, please don't trust this Pollyanna advice from HN which is coming from people who have not had any problems like this.
First, 'pollyanna advice' is unnecessarily harsh.
> Returning to a Pollyanna view of a perfect agrarian society of cows fertilizing humble fields of vegetables, would result in widespread shortages.
I'll be the Pollyanna here and say: maybe!
Quote examples
The Pollyanna approach "Its natural" doesn't help us when cities are going underwater.
On your last point, I find it silly to assert that a belief in humanities ability to overrule animal instincts is somehow "Pollyanna thinking".
Call me Pollyanna, but it seems to me that that’s a win for absolutely everyone." [2] And I have to agree, this looks like a big win for everyone.
Wow, well I just had a moment of self-reflection on what a Pollyanna I am...my first thought at reading the headline was, "Oh good, now people like Aaron Swartz can't be threatened with 15 year prison sentences, or (in other cases) become felons for violating certain interpretations of Terms of Service".
Proper noun examples
Nobody is making any Pollyanna'ish guarantee that such a system will result in the most possible desirable outcome for everybody involved.
Maybe I'm more Pollyanna-ish than most, but I'd much rather read stories of success.
It may sound fluffy and Pollyanna-like, but it's hard to be successful in this field without genuinely caring about the patient at the other end of your software.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use pollyanna in a sentence?
You are right, there is a dark side to entrepreneurial ambition and Pollyanna should be tarred and feathered.
What does pollyanna mean?
One who is persistently cheerful and optimistic, even when given cause not to be so.
What part of speech is pollyanna?
pollyanna is commonly used as noun.