hopeful

Hopeful is an English adjective meaning full of hope or expecting a positive outcome. It can also function as a noun to refer to a person who hopes or, in some contexts, a candidate who is likely to win, as in “the hopefuls lined up for auditions.” In usage, hopeful describes a state of mind or an outlook rather than a definite result.

As an adjective, hopeful often conveys optimism tempered by realism. For example, “She was hopeful about the test results” implies a positive expectation without certainty. The term can carry different strengths of optimism, from tentative to confident, depending on context and tone.

The adverb hopefully has two common uses. It can mean “in a hopeful manner,” as in “They spoke hopefully about the project.” It is also used to mean “it is to be hoped that,” introducing a clause with the expectation of a favorable outcome. Some style guides advise limiting sentence-initial hopefully in favor of clearer phrasing, though usage varies in modern English.

Etymology-wise, hopeful is formed from the noun hope plus the suffix -ful, and it appears in English from the Middle English period. Related concepts include optimism, expectation, and confidence, while antonyms include hopeless and despairing.

See also: hope, hopefuls, hopefulness, optimism, pessimism.