Hopeful \Hope"ful\, a.

1. Full of hope, or agreeable expectation; inclined to hope; expectant. [1913 Webster]

Men of their own natural inclination hopeful and strongly conceited. --Hooker. [1913 Webster]

2. Having qualities which excite hope; affording promise of good or of success; as, a hopeful youth; a hopeful prospect. "Hopeful scholars." --Addison. -- Hope"ful*ly, adv. -- Hope"ful*ness, n. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

179 Moby Thesaurus words for "hopeful": Leibnizian optimist, Pollyanna, addict, adolescent, advantageous, agape, agog, all agog, also-ran, anticipant, anticipating, anticipative, anticipatory, applicant, apt, aspirant, aspirer, aspiring, assured, auspicious, awaiting, baby, baby kisser, beaming, blithe, blithesome, bright, bright and sunny, budding, candidate, certain, cheerful, cheering, cheery, chiliast, collector, confident, content, couleur de rose, coveter, dark horse, defeated candidate, desirer, devotee, dud, eager, easy, elated, encouraging, eupeptic, euphoric, exalted, exhilarated, expectant, expecting, fair, fancier, favorite son, fledgling, flushed, fond, forearmed, foreseeable, forestalling, forewarned, freak, full of hope, gaping, genial, glad, gladsome, glowing, golden, halcyon, hankerer, happy, heartening, high, hoper, hoping, in anticipation, in expectation, in good heart, in good spirits, in high spirits, in hopes, in the cards, infant, inspiriting, irrepressible, irrepressible optimist, junior, juvenal, juvenile, lame duck, laughing, liable, likely, looking for, looking forward to, lover, millenarian, millennialist, millennian, minor, not surprised, odds-on, of good cheer, of good hope, office seeker, optimist, optimistic, perfectibilist, perfectibilitarian, perfectionist, philosophical optimist, pleasant, political hopeful, predictable, predictable within limits, prepared, presidential timber, presumable, presumptive, probable, promising, propitious, pubescent, radiant, ray of sunshine, ready, reassuring, riant, rose-colored, roseate, rosy, running mate, sanguine, sanguineous, sapling, satisfied, secure, seeker, slip, smiling, solicitant, sparkling, sprig, stalking-horse, statistically probable, stripling, suitor, sunny, sure, teenager, teener, teenybopper, undespairing, undisturbed, unsurprised, up-and-coming, upbeat, utopian, verisimilar, votary, waiting, waiting for, wanter, watching for, winsome, wisher, yearner, young hopeful, young person, younger, youngest, youngling, youngster, youth

Source: Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
 

hopeful adj
1: having or manifesting or inspiring hope; "a line of people hopeful of obtaining tickets"; "found a hopeful way of attacking the problem" [ant: hopeless]
2: presaging good fortune; "she made a fortunate decision to go to medical school"; "rosy predictions" [syn: fortunate, rosy]

noun

an ambitious and aspiring young person; "a lofty aspirant"; "two executive hopefuls joined the firm"; "the audience was full of Madonna wannabes" [syn: aspirant, aspirer, wannabe, wannabee]

Source: WordNet (r) 2.0
 

Hopeful \Hope"ful\, a.

1. Full of hope, or agreeable expectation; inclined to hope; expectant.

Men of their own natural inclination hopeful and strongly conceited. --Hooker.

2. Having qualities which excite hope; affording promise of good or of success; as, a hopeful youth; a hopeful prospect. ``Hopeful scholars.'' --Addison. -- Hope"ful*ly, adv. -- Hope"ful*ness, n.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)