defeatistEnglishOxford English Thesaurusdefeatist adjective they were criticized for their defeatist attitude: pessimistic, fatalistic, negative, resigned, cynical, discouraged, despondent, despairing, hopeless, bleak, gloomy, gloom-ridden, looking on the dark/black side. ▷antonyms optimistic, positive.noun pessimist, fatalist, yielder, cynic, prophet of doom, doomwatcher; misery, killjoy, worrier, Job's comforter; informal quitter, doom and gloom merchant, doomster, wet blanket. ▷antonyms optimist.defeatist Oxford Dictionary of English