Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A person regarded as being foolishly or blindly optimistic.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun A female
given name derived fromPolly andAnna ; rare in the real world. - noun One who is persistently cheerful and optimistic, even when given cause not to be so.
- noun colloquial, US A
secret Santa gift exchange.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Before reading the book, I didn't realize it existed, and I agree, the meaning of pollyanna strays from the behavior of Pollyanna in the book.
It's getting ugly, but is it getting racial? Ann Althouse 2008
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"PollyANna!" gasped the lady; but Pollyanna was gone, and only the distant bang of the attic-stairway door answered for her.
Pollyanna 1894
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Maybe it's a cop-out, but Pollyanna is the perfect antidote, at times, to my troubled world vision.
Pollyanna Grows Up | The Stiletto Gang The Stiletto Gang 2008
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But he is completely out of touch with reality and completely stuck in Pollyanna land, suggesting that we need to stay in Iraq indefinitely and that things are going so well
Think Progress » Note to Lieberman: The Iraqis Want A Timetable 2005
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Of course, this could all just be my friggin 'Pollyanna complex kicking in, and I'm just trying to find a bright side ... posted by Candace at 11/23/2005 11: 38: 00 PM
Ralph Klein did Harper a favor Candace 2005
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But, at the risk of being called a Pollyanna, let me give you the good news.
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Several times I've been called a Pollyanna, and I say, "Well, if I am, I'm proud of it."
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I don't mean this as some sort of a "Pollyanna" platitude, but as a serious reflection on our world and who we are becoming at this particular time in human history.
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Sure, this sounds like 'Pollyanna' ... but what will it hurt to dedicate one part of ourselves to getting better, smarter, faster ... kinder, stronger, wiser ... each day, even as we nurse whatever failures, fears or faults we choose to continue to acknowledge?
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Nowadays, "Pollyanna" has morphed into a term meaning someone who has a superficial, naïve, rose-colored-glasses view of the world.
Helen Davey: Faking Positive Emotions for Our Jobs: At What Cost? Helen Davey 2010
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