hopeful

adj
/ˈhəʊpfl̩/UK/ˈhoʊpfl̩/US

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *tōhopōnder. Old English tōhopa Old English hopa Middle English hope English hope Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós Proto-Germanic *fullaz Proto-Germanic *-fullaz Old English -ful Middle English -ful English -ful English hopeful From hope + -ful.

  1. inherited from *hopōn
  2. inherited from hopian
  3. inherited from hopen
  4. formed as hopeful — “hope + -ful

Definitions

  1. feeling hope

    • I have been very hopeful.
    • I am hopeful that I will recover from the disease.
    • Speaking with reporters during a stop in New York, Mr. Biden offered the most hopeful assessment of the hostage talks by any major figure in many days, suggesting that the war might be close to a major turning point.
  2. inspiring hope

    • It looks hopeful that my father will be able to walk again.
    • The night was further proof that the Democratic Party’s cruel summer had given way to a more hopeful election season.
  3. Someone who is hoping for success or victory, especially as a candidate in a political…

    Someone who is hoping for success or victory, especially as a candidate in a political election.

    • Several presidential hopefuls are campaigning in New Hampshire this week.
    • Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and several other Republican presidential hopefuls spent Tuesday in New Hampshire, while Mike Pence, the former vice president, was in Iowa.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at hopeful. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01hopeful02hope03infinitive04mood05gloomy06pessimistic07hopefulness

A definitional loop anchored at hopeful. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at hopeful

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA