cynic

American  

[sin-ik] / ˈsɪn ɪk /

noun

1. a person who believes that only selfishness motivates human actions and who disbelieves in or minimizes selfless acts or disinterested points of view.

   Synonyms:

   misanthrope, pessimist, skeptic

2. (initial capital letter) one of a sect of Greek philosophers, 4th century b.c., who advocated the doctrines that virtue is the only good, that the essence of virtue is self-control, and that surrender to any external influence is beneath human dignity.

3. a person who shows or expresses a bitterly or sneeringly cynical attitude.

   Synonyms:

   misanthrope, pessimist, skeptic

---

adjective

1. cynical.

2. (initial capital letter) Also Cynical. of or relating to the Cynics or their doctrines.

3. Medicine/Medical Now Rare. resembling the actions of a snarling dog.

cynic ¹ British  

/ ˈsɪnɪk /

noun

1. a person who believes the worst about people or the outcome of events

---

adjective

1. a less common word for cynical

2. astronomy of or relating to Sirius, the Dog Star

Cynic ² British  

/ ˈsɪnɪk /

noun

1. a member of a sect founded by Antisthenes that scorned worldly things and held that self-control was the key to the only good

---

Other Word Forms

• anticynic noun

Etymology

Origin of cynic

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin Cynicus, from Greek Kynikós “Cynic,” literally, “doglike, currish,” equivalent to kyn-, stem of kýōn “dog” + -ikos -ic ( def. )

Example Sentences

Mr. Riley’s column reminds me of Oscar Wilde’s definition of a cynic: “A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Given the state of the government's popularity, you don't have to be a cynic to ask if these sorts of promises will be enough to turn things round.

From BBC

Yet at 26, she has weathered countless storms — whether facing incessant body-shaming online, or defending her pop music pivot from cynics in the comments.

From Los Angeles Times

Here is the answer to the cynics who give the motion picture no place in the family arts .

From Literature

A cynic might say the same logic could be used to justify the sale of machine guns to children.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• detractor
• doubter
• pessimist
• skeptic