Meaning & use
cynic
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Meanings
nouncountabledisapproving
Someone who assumes that people act only for selfish reasons and does not trust their claims of honesty or good intentions.
Grammar: Countable: a cynic, two cynics; the person, not the attitude, which is cynicism.
Patterns
- a cynic about something
Only a cynic would think the donation was just for publicity.
My uncle is a cynic who believes every politician is lying.
The first sign of kindness surprised even the cynics in the office.
nouncountablespecialist
A member of an ancient Greek school of philosophy that taught that virtue lies in living simply and freely, indifferent to comfort and convention.
Grammar: Usually capitalized as Cynic in history; Diogenes was the most famous one.
Diogenes, the famous Cynic, reportedly lived in a large jar.
The Cynics rejected wealth and social rank.
Students of philosophy read about the Cynics in their first course.
Word forms
| plural | cynics |
|---|
Common combinations
- hardened cynic
- Even the hardened cynic smiled at the child's gift.
- a bit of a cynic
- I am a bit of a cynic about advertising claims.
- prove the cynics wrong
- The young team proved the cynics wrong by winning.
- a born cynic
- My grandfather was a born cynic who doubted every offer.
- jaded cynic
- The jaded cynic had seen too many broken promises.
Synonyms and how they differ
- skeptic
- A skeptic doubts claims and wants proof, whereas a cynic specifically distrusts people's motives.
- pessimist
- A pessimist expects bad outcomes in general, while a cynic expects bad intentions in others.
- misanthrope
- Misanthrope is stronger and means someone who dislikes people altogether, not just doubts their motives.
- doubter
- Doubter is plain and neutral, with none of the sour, world-weary tone of cynic.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: cynic or skeptic?
cynic vs skeptic
A skeptic questions evidence and claims in general, while a cynic believes people are driven by selfishness.
Practice
Which person is best described as a cynic?
Choose one answer.
A cynic distrusts people's motives. The evidence-seeker is more of a skeptic, which is the tempting choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cynic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.