cynical

adjective

cyn·i·cal ˈsi-ni-kəl

Synonyms of cynical next

: having or showing the attitude or temper of a cynic: such as

: contemptuously distrustful of human nature and motives

… those cynical men who say that democracy cannot be honest and efficient.—

Franklin D. Roosevelt

: based on or reflecting a belief that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest

a cynical ploy to win votes

: captious, peevish

cynically

ˈsi-ni-k(ə-)lē

adverb

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Out of the Kennel: The History of Cynical

Cynical has a certain amount of dog in its ancestry, although not in the way that you might think. In ancient Greece, the followers of the philosopher Antisthenes were referred to as kynikos (“doglike”); when cynical was first used in English, it often was in reference to this group of philosophers.

A number of other English words have a canine history as well: harass can be traced to a word in Middle French (harer) meaning “to set a dog on;” sarcasm comes from a Greek word (sarkazein) which means “to tear flesh like dogs;” and even the word for a completely different animal, the canary, comes from a word for dog (the explanation for this seeming incongruity is that the bird comes from the Canary Islands, the name of which comes from the Latin for “dog islands,” Canariae insulae).

Choose the Right Synonym for cynical

cynical, misanthropic, pessimistic mean deeply distrustful.

cynical implies having a sneering disbelief in sincerity or integrity.

cynical about politicians' motives

misanthropic suggests a rooted distrust and dislike of human beings and their society.

a solitary and misanthropic artist

pessimistic implies having a gloomy, distrustful view of life.

pessimistic about the future

Examples of cynical in a Sentence

… if more and more people out there are willing to kill themselves in order to kill us, we've got to give the poor and cynical of the world something positive to believe in. —

Robert Reich, Prospect, February 2003

When "Roots" premiered on the ABC network in 1977, my generation of black academics and activists was cynical and outraged. We felt the horrors of slavery were rendered flat and lifeless by the miniseries … —

Houston A. Baker, Jr., Vibe, February 2002

It was fear of the Other, the poor, the dying—or to evoke a word with biblical authority—the pestilential. And so I could no longer be cynical about her motives. —

Bharati Mukherjee, Time, 14 June 1999

… was quiet spoken, but he had a cynical arch to his brows, as though he were repressing an urge to sneer. —

Joseph Wambaugh, The Blooding, 1989

Cynical people say there is no such thing as true love. People are so cynical nowadays. She's become more cynical in her old age. Some people regard the governor's visit to the hospital as a cynical attempt to win votes.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Even at our most politically cynical, Americans would probably not want to have a king. —

Jack Butler, National Review, 5 Nov. 2024 Crystal’s Harry is a divorced lawyer with a cynical side that was based in part on Reiner, now 77, while Ryan’s Sally was based in part on Ephron. —

Victoria Edel, People.com, 29 Oct. 2024 Black journalist and Progressive activist Ida B. Wells famously took Willard to task for circulating racist stereotypes about drunken Black men raping innocent white women in a cynical effort to garner support from Southern white women. —

Elizabeth Marshall / Made By History, TIME, 23 Oct. 2024 Plus, with everyone else in The Franchise falling on the cynical side of the movie-making business, there’s an ingredient imbalance in the comedy recipe. —

Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for cynical