pessimo

Pessimo is an Italian adjective meaning very bad or the worst, used to express a strong negative evaluation of quality, performance, or conditions. It can describe objects, actions, or outcomes and is commonly found in everyday speech, journalism, and reviews. The word conveys a higher degree than simply bad, signaling a near-extreme level of dissatisfaction.

Etymology and forms: Pessimo derives from Latin pessimus, the superlative form of malus (bad). Italian forms its adjectives with gender and number: masculine singular pessimo, feminine singular pessima, masculine plural pessimi, feminine plural pessime. The related adverb is pessimamente, used to modify verbs (for example, ha lavorato pessimamente, “he worked terribly”).

Usage notes: Pessimo typically appears before or after a noun to evaluate its quality, such as un film pessimo (a terrible film) or una pessima scelta (a terrible choice). It can also function predicatively, as in È pessimo (It is terrible). While strongly negative, the term can be intensified with other words for emphasis in informal speech, and in some contexts may be perceived as overly harsh.

Translations and cognates: In English, pessimo is commonly rendered as terrible or awful, depending on context. The word has cognates in other Romance languages, such as pésimo in Spanish and péssimo in Portuguese (both deriving from Latin pessimus), with similar meanings.

See also: synonyms include terribile, orribile, disastroso; related terms discuss the concept of pessimism and negative evaluation in discourse.