Front | Pollyanna \pol-ee-AN-uh\ |
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Back | noun A naively cheerful and optimistic person. [After Pollyanna Whittier, heroine of novels by Eleanor Porter (1868-1920). Pollyanna is an indefatigable optimist and teaches everyone to play the "glad game": find something to be glad about, no matter what tragedy befalls. Earliest documented use: 1917.] "So the doctrine of positive thinking does not require you to close your eyes and ears to the world. It does not require you to become a Pollyanna, calling everything wonderful, no matter how horrid it is." A Thought About Negative Thinking; Deccan Chronicle (India); Sep 16, 2012. |
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