defeatism

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It may be tempting to slide into defeatism.

From Slate • Jan. 23, 2026

And he slammed cadres who for "too long been accustomed to defeatism, irresponsibility and passiveness".

From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026

But with enough resources, the Patriot target is achievable, despite much defeatism about U.S. industrial capacity.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026

“I think there’s a lot of negative polarization at play — an expression of defeatism or disenfranchisement at the fact that status quo politicians aren’t addressing young men’s problems.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 3, 2025

Once you understand that context matters, however, that specific and relatively small elements in the environment can serve as Tipping Points, that defeatism is turned upside down.

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell