Meanings
- The feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself.
Hope ſprings eternal in the human breaſt; / Man never is, but always to be bleſt.
1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], epistle I, London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC, page 7, lines 91–923 more examples
Night after night his disappointment is acute, but hope springs eternal in the scholastic breast, and he follows me again to-morrow.
1864 May – 1865 November, Charles Dickens, “Scouts Out”, in Our Mutual Friend. […], volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1865, →OCLC, 3rd book (A Long Lane), page 95But, as hope springs eternal in the human breast, he still goes from doctor to doctor for fresh advice.
1915, Elinor Glyn, “The Gospel of Common Sense”, in Three ThingsBut hope springs eternal in diehard Tiger fans, and Peter is convinced that someday, somehow, he and his son will see Detroit clinch a championship.
2003 April 23, Leon Jaroff, “Hold that Tiger”, in Time, archived from the original on 02 May 2013Synonyms: while there's life, there's hope
Synonyms & antonyms
proverbThe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself.
Origin
Ellipsis of hope springs eternal in the human breast, a quotation from An Essay on Man (1734) by Alexander Pope.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Czech naděje umírá poslední
- naděje umírá posledníthe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
Danish håbet er lysegrønt
- håbet er lysegrøntthe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
Dutch hoop doet leven
- hoop doet leventhe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
Finnish niin kauan kuin on elämää, on toivoa, toivossa on hyvä elää
- niin kauan kuin on elämää, on toivoathe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
- toivossa on hyvä elääthe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
French tant qu'il y a de la vie, il y a de l'espoir
- tant qu'il y a de la vie, il y a de l'espoirthe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
German die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt, noch ist Polen nicht verloren
- die Hoffnung stirbt zuletztthe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
- noch ist Polen nicht verlorenthe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
- Glaube, Liebe, Hoffnungthe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
Hungarian a remény hal meg utoljára
- a remény hal meg utoljárathe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
Indonesian ada hari, ada nasi
- ada hari, ada nasithe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
Italian la speranza è l'ultima a morire
- la speranza è l'ultima a morirethe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
Polish jeszcze Polska nie zginęła, nadzieja umiera ostatnia
- jeszcze Polska nie zginęłathe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
- nadzieja umiera ostatniathe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
Portuguese a esperança é a última que morre, a esperança é a última a morrer
- a esperança é a última que morrethe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
- a esperança é a última a morrerthe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
Romanian speranța moare ultima
- speranța moare ultimathe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
Spanish la esperanza es la última que muere
- la esperanza es la última que muerethe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
Swedish än är inte Polen förlorat, hoppet är det sista som överger en människa
- än är inte Polen förloratthe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
- hoppet är det sista som överger en människathe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
Tagalog habang may buhay, may pag-asa
- habang may buhay, may pag-asathe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
Vietnamese còn nước còn tát
- còn nước còn tátthe feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself
Cite this entry
hope springs eternal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hope%20springs%20eternal
“hope springs eternal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hope%20springs%20eternal. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hope springs eternal,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hope%20springs%20eternal.
Source: hope springs eternal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.