ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary BuilderWordsHhopeful
ISEE/SSATeasy
hopeful
Meaning: believing that something good may happen
hopeful in a sentence
How hopeful is used in real sentences:
The team remained hopeful that the rain would stop before the game.
The gardeners were hopeful that the tiny seedlings would grow well in the sunny window.
“He felt hopeful that he could find the key and earn her trust.”
— from the passage The Silver Key
Synonyms for hopeful
Other words for hopeful — optimistic, encouraged and positive — carry the same meaning.
- optimistic
- encouraged
- positive
Antonyms of hopeful
Words that mean the opposite of hopeful:
- hopeless
- doubtful
Where it comes from
From Old English hopa 'confidence in the future'
Word parts
- -ful — turns a noun into an adjective meaning full of or strongly marked by it
hopeful: hope + -ful (full of or marked by)
Memory hook
If you are full of hope, you are hopeful.