de·feat·ism

(dĭ-fē′tĭz′əm)

Acceptance of or resignation to the prospect of defeat.

de·feat′ist adj. & n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

defeatism

(dɪˈfiːtɪzəm)

a ready acceptance or expectation of defeat

deˈfeatist n, adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

de•feat•ism

(dɪˈfi tɪz əm)

n.

the attitude of a person who is resigned to defeat.

[1915–20; < French défaitisme]

de•feat′ist, n., adj.

defeatism

1. the acceptance of defeat as a foregone conclusion and the resultant failure to make an effort to succeed.
2. the views underlying acceptance of the frustration or thwarting of a goal, especially by the failure to prevent them. Cf. futilitarianism. — defeatist, n., adj.

defeatism

[dɪˈfiːtɪzəm] N → derrotismo m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

defeatism

[dɪˈfiːtɪzəm] n → défaitisme m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

defeatism

n → Defätismus m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

defeatism

[dɪˈfiːtɪz/əm] n → disfattismo

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

defeat

(diˈfiːt) verb

to win a victory over. They defeated our team by three goals; We will defeat the enemy eventually.

noun

the loss of a game, battle, race etc. His defeat in the last race depressed him; We suffered yet another defeat.

deˈfeated adjective

(negative undefeated). a defeated enemy.

deˈfeatism noun

a state of mind in which one expects and accepts defeat too easily. The defeatism of the captain affects the rest of the players.

deˈfeatist noun, adjective

(of) a person who gives up too easily and is too easily discouraged. She is such a defeatist; She has a defeatist attitude to life.

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References in periodicals archive

BORIS Johnson has dismissed warnings by senior ministers that Parliament will find a way to block a no-deal Brexit as a "red herring", as he condemned the "defeatism and negativity" in government about the prospect of leaving the EU.

Boris scorns no-deal block warnings over as 'red herring'

Speaking to TalkRadio, he said: "For three years we've been sitting around wrapped in defeatism telling the British public they can't do this or that.

Britain to quit EU 'come what may, do or die' ? Johnson vows he will ensure Brexit happens on Halloween

"The way to get our friends and partners to understand how serious we are is finally to abandon the defeatism and negativity and to prepare confidently and seriously for a no-deal outcome." //Petra// RZ 25/06/2019 11:41:27

UK's Johnson admits needing EU support in no-deal Brexit

We will never submit, will never lower our gaze, and will never react to anti-Semitism with defeatism, Rivlin said.

Israeli President to German Official Who Advised Jews Not to Wear Kippot: 'We Will Never Submit'

He also lashed out at Brexit "defeatism", saying: "If you just try to project the past into the present and the future, it's going to be bleak."

May snubbed as Trump aide says UK 'needs leadership'

As a country that faces difficulties ahead, Taiwan must do everything in its power to deal with those challenges and that will take the determination of both its leader and people not to give in to defeatism, President Tsai Ing-wen said recently.

Taiwan, as a nation, must not give in to defeatism: president

CHRIS Coleman has granted his players a few days off before attempting to lift the defeatism hanging over the Stadium of Light.

Struggling players need some time apart, says Coleman

President Duterte's posturing to rehabilitate Boracay is absurd as he literally surrendered our marine resources and allowed environmental destruction brought about by his defeatism to reclamation and occupation of China in the West Philippine Sea, as well as the massive reclamation projects in our coastal waters.

Guard against foreign takeover of Boracay

Wenger long ago lost that belief and reeks of defeatism. Suffer another humiliating one tonight and there is surely no way back.

Wenger & Co quick to put up white flag

I feel profoundly angered and ashamed that the labour movement's navel-gazing defeatism has allowed the Tories to implement such draconian legislation, particularly on the 90th anniversary of the famed 1926 general strike.

Trade Union Bill is unjust

Mrs Morgan's style is much more consensual than Michael Gove, whose "smell of defeatism" lectures from afar added nothing to the quality of this important debate.

Lessons for the future

While reading The Life of John Birch by Robert Welch, I realized that as encouraging as the TNA article "Standing Against Defeat" in the August 24 issue was, it missed dealing with what causes defeatism. Robert Welch wrote that John Birch stood against the communists because they took food from their citizens by force, and in the United States you have a chance to make a better life.

Understanding hopelessness