(Source)

Pollyanna is the title character in a 1913 novel by Eleanor Porter. You can read it here, or check out the 1960 Disney movie.

In the story, Pollyanna is eleven years old, happy, positive, insightful, enthusiastic, able to see the good in everyone and everything, and able to easily overcome her own traumas. She teaches adults to be happy.

And she never stops talking. When she finds out that her aunt doesn't like ice cream: "Oh, doesn't she? I'm so sorry! I don't see how she can help liking ice-cream. But—anyhow, I can be kinder glad about that, 'cause the ice-cream you don't eat can't make your stomach ache."

In fact, every other word out of Pollyanna's mouth is "glad." Glad, glad, glad. She plays something called the "just being glad game," which is when you figure out something to be glad about in every annoying or horrible situation.

If you're gagging, that's the idea! Thanks to this story, today, a Pollyanna is a person whose happiness and optimism is very in-your-face, annoying, and unrealistic.

Part of speech:

Noun, the countable kind: "Please stop being a Pollyanna for a second and focus on the problem."

Other forms: 

Pollyannas, Pollyannaism, pollyannaish (or, if you prefer, Pollyanna-like).

Why is "pollyannaish" not capitalized when all the other forms are? Well, you can capitalize it if you want to. It just happened to become common enough that many writers stopped capitalizing it.

how to use it:

It's not a nice word. And if your listeners haven't heard it before, they'll be confused unless you provide enough context. For both of those reasons, use it with care!

Call someone a Pollyanna when you want to point out how stupidly, aggressively optimistic they are, especially if they just never shut up about how great everything is.

Or, use the adjective: talk about pollyannaish attitudes, predictions, interpretations, stories, lessons, etc.

examples:

"The relentlessly pollyannaish assessment of the Puerto Rico aid effort from the Trump administration finally caused the mayor of San Juan to snap. 'Damn it, this is not a good news story,' said Carmen Yulín Cruz. 'This is a people-are-dying story.'"
   — Paul Owen, The Guardian, 30 September 2017

"Beware the Pollyanna Message From Brokers... Brokers are to stocks what Will Rogers was to people. Hardly ever do brokers meet a stock they don't like."  
   — Mark Hulbert, New York Times, 26 July 1998

has this page helped you understand "Pollyanna"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "Pollyanna" without saying "someone naively peppy" or "someone overly idealistic."

try it out:

Based what you know about the word "Pollyanna" and the derogatory way we use it, do you think you'd enjoy reading the novel, or watching the movie? Why or why not?

Or, if you've already read it or seen it, did you enjoy it, and why or why not? To what extent did you identify with Pollyanna, or with the people who found her annoying?

Also, check out what the reviewer below has to say about the movie. Does it sway you in any way?

"You will be delighted to realize just how subversive this intelligent witty film is... People who carp that this is a syrupy sweet film and moan about Disney saccharine movies are missing the point. POLLYANNA is a sly film about misuse of power, loneliness, bullying and meanness using a good natured teen to counterpoint a town of adults who have lost their way in their own lives."

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for January: "Is That a Real Word?"

In each issue, I’ll give you three, um, written phenomena. You decide if each is a real word—and most importantly—why or why not. If someone were to dispute your judgment, how would you defend it? For fun, try comparing your responses with a companion’s. And if you like, you can compare yours with mine, which I’ll list at the bottom of the issue.

Try these today:  Out of "anyways," "elderlies," and "kooky," which, if any, are real words?

review this word:

1. The opposite of POLLYANNAISH could be

A. DOPEY.
B. DISMAL.
C. WORLDLY WISE.

2. The nature of a "Pollyanna" is best illustrated by this quote from Eleanor H. Porter's novel, Pollyanna:

A. "The old irritability had come back to her face. Impatience which would brook no opposition had been a part of her nature too long."

B. "With all the strength of her loving, loyal heart, she wished she could in some way bring happiness into their miserably lonely lives."

C. "Her capable hands made short work of unpacking the books, the patched undergarments, and the few pitifully unattractive dresses."

Answers to the review questions: 1. B 2. B Let's compare notes from the game: I say all three are real. "Anyways" is slangy and silly. I use it in conversation, but would probably edit it out of an academic paper. You'll find it in the Oxford English Dictionary, labeled "colloquial," with citations dating back to the year 1400! (Source) "Elderlies" strikes me as a seriously rude way to refer to old folks. Like the word "females" in the wrong context, it just oozes disrespect and objectification. The OED acknowledges it as a "quasi-noun," with just one citation, dated 1865, but doesn't give it its own full entry. It's a word, but that doesn't mean we have to use it! The wordness of "kooky" is firmly established! Everyone understands it, and it appears in all major English dictionaries. Words don't have to be dignified to be real!

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.