Cynic Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms 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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

1. a less common word for cynical

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Not sure where I fell on the spectrum between “cynic” and “believer” myself, I found myself anxious as L’Belle-Tividad sat me down for a reading.

From Los Angeles Times

The same Household Finance that had pushed Steve Eisman over the narrow border between Wall Street skeptic and Wall Street cynic.

From Literature

But the green cynic changes his tune once he's wowed by some of the low price products on offer.

From BBC

They say it’s better to be lucky than to be smart, and cynics may now wonder which word is a better fit for Bisignano.

From MarketWatch

A cynic convinced of the world’s brokenness, he realizes that revolutions need hope too.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• detractor
• doubter
• pessimist
• skeptic

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.