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Monday 16 December 2013

Entry: Panglossian (adj.)

In context:  "'How does somebody with your kind of Panglossian constitution determine whenever you're ever being lied to, I sometimes wonder, Booboo.'"

Definition:   Of, relating to, or characteristic of a Pangloss; unwaveringly or unrealistically optimistic.

Other:   Pangloss (n.): A person resembling Voltaire's character Pangloss, esp. one who is optimistic regardless of the circumstances. Also Doctor Pangloss.

Etymology:  < the name of Dr Pangloss (French Panglosse), the philosopher and tutor in Voltaire's Candide (1759) who believes that ‘all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds’.

SNOOT score:   3
 
Page: 772

Source: Oxford English Dictionary   

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