Whether overly pessimistic, unnecessarily blameful, or excessively naive, their understanding often needs massive doses of unbiased observation.

It may seem overly pessimistic now, but at the time, invasion was a very real anxiety.

Challenge anxious thoughts - they may be based on an overly pessimistic premise.

One, which asked not to be named, described the notion that house prices could fall 40 per cent as 'overly pessimistic, dismal'.

While that prediction looks overly pessimistic to most analysts, there seems little doubt that things will get worse for homeowners before they get better.