miserabilist
English
WOTD – 30 June 2012
Alternative forms
Etymology
Variant of miserable + -ist, with interconsonant -i- added due to difficulty or lack of flow in pronouncing miserablist.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmɪzəɹəbəlɪst/
Audio (RP) (file)
Noun
miserabilist (plural miserabilists)
- One who is unhappy, or extols being miserable as a virtue; a philosopher of pessimism.
- Synonyms: buzzkill, killjoy, spoilsport; see also Thesaurus:spoilsport
- 1991, Anthony Powell, Under review: further writings on writers, 1946-1989, page 242:
- Gissing is never more of a miserabilist than when trying to be light-hearted.
- 2006, Iain Sinclair, London: city of disappearances, page 314:
- An old, failed actor who lived on his own, he never had friends dropping by, because he was a bedridden inconsiderate miserabilist.
Usage notes
Also appears as variant miserablist (without interconsonantal -i-), but this latter is less common; likewise miserabilism (with -i-) is more common than miserablism (without -i-).
Related terms
Translations
one who extols being miserable
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Adjective
miserabilist (comparative more miserabilist, superlative most miserabilist)
- Miserable, pessimistic.
- 2014, Doru Pop, Romanian New Wave Cinema: An Introduction, McFarland, →ISBN, page 61:
- This is a radical difference between the naturalism of the miserabilist approach, and the naturalism practiced by the Romanian New Wave.
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