One who expects the worst — Aptitude Question
One who expects the worst: Choose the one word for: a person who always expects the worst. Answer and worked solution on CodeKairo.
- Topic: Synonyms & Antonyms
- Section: Verbal Ability
- Difficulty: Easy
- Time target: 35 seconds
Question
Choose the one word for: a person who always expects the worst.
Options
- Optimist
- Pessimist
- Cynic
- Sceptic
Show the answer and the worked solution
Correct answer: B. Pessimist
Worked solution
- A pessimist expects the worst outcome.
- A cynic doubts people's motives; a sceptic doubts claims.
Answer: Pessimist.
The idea
Distinguish the near-neighbours: pessimism is about outcomes, cynicism about motives, scepticism about evidence.
Shortcut. Pessimist comes from Latin pessimus, 'worst' — the person who expects the worst.
Common trap. "Cynic" — a cynic also expects bad things, but of people's motives; expecting the worst outcome is pessimism.