look on the bright side

verb

To examine a situation, usually unfavorable, from a positive perspective; to be cheerful or optimistic.

“Look on the bright side. At least having a broken leg means Joyce will have to do the TPS reports until they remember to send your laptop over.”

Similar
look on the positive side
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verblook on the bright side (third-person singular simple present looks on the bright side, present participle looking on the bright side, simple past and past participle looked on the bright side)

present singular third person looks on the bright side · participle present looking on the bright side · participle past looked on the bright side · past looked on the bright side · alternative look on the bright side of it

  1. idiomaticTo examine a situation, usually unfavorable, from a positive perspective; to be cheerful or optimistic.

    Look on the bright side. At least having a broken leg means Joyce will have to do the TPS reports until they remember to send your laptop over.

    1 more example

    Patrick O'Brien: No hard feelings? I've been falsely accused, had the crap kicked out of me, now I have no job. Gene Hunt: Look on the bright side. Still got your health. So, you know, every cloud.

    2007 March 6, Julie Rutterford, Life on Mars, Season 2, Episode 3

    Synonyms: look on the positive side

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo examine a situation, usually unfavorable, from a positive perspective; to be cheerful or optimistic.

Similar
look on the positive side
Also see
look on the positive side

Translations

Finnish katsoa asian valoisaa puolta
  • katsoa asian valoisaa puoltaTranslations
French voir le bon côté des choses
  • voir le bon côté des chosesTranslations
Polish myśleć pozytywnie
  • myśleć pozytywnieTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

look on the bright side. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/look%20on%20the%20bright%20side

MLA

“look on the bright side.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/look%20on%20the%20bright%20side. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “look on the bright side,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/look%20on%20the%20bright%20side.

Source: look on the bright side on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.