hopium

Hopium is unrealistic hope, treated as if it were a drug. Someone “on hopium” is clinging to the belief that things will turn out well despite the evidence.

What does hopium mean?

Hopium blends “hope” and “opium.” It pokes fun at optimism that feels more like a comforting high than a reasonable expectation: the conviction that your team will win the title after losing every game, that a delayed game will launch on time, or that an ex will text back.

Like copium, it’s often aimed at yourself with a wink: “I’ve got a little hopium that the flight won’t be delayed.”

How to use hopium

• “Season 3 is getting renewed, I can feel it.” “That’s hopium.”
• “Running purely on hopium until the exam results come out.”
• “Fans are high on hopium after one decent preseason game.”
• “Crypto Twitter is full of hopium again.”

Hopium vs. copium

Hopium looks forward: it’s about something that hasn’t happened yet. Copium looks back: it’s how people cope once things have gone wrong. The two often come as a pair: hopium before the big game, copium after it.

Where hopium comes from

Hopium is older than most internet slang. The language blog Grammarphobia found a joke version, “Band of Hope-ium,” in an 1870 British publication. It became a familiar political jibe in 2008, when a Chicago Tribune column used it to mock enthusiasm for Barack Obama’s “hope” message. In recent years it has spread alongside copium in gaming, sports and crypto communities.

Related terms

• Copium: coping with a loss through denial.
• Delulu: delusional, sometimes on purpose.
• Doomscrolling: the gloomy opposite of hopium.
• FOMO: fear of missing out.

See more terms like this in our internet slang dictionary.