Words at Play : Words that Come from Characters in Books
Definition:
: an irritatingly cheerful person
About the Word:
Pollyanna bears a certain resemblance to panglossian and Micawber. This shows us that, when it comes to having words to describe the irritatingly optimistic people in our midst, there is no such thing as too many synonyms.
Pollyanna is taken from name of the heroine of the novel (of the same name) by Eleanor Porter, published in 1913.
Example:
"You have to face facts and yet also be something of a Pollyanna about them." — Nancy N. Rue, Coping with an Illiterate Parent, 1990
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