as in misanthrope
a person who distrusts other people and believes that everything is done for selfish reasons
a cynic who believes that nobody does a good deed without expecting something in return
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cynic
Into this void emerge the cynics and the snake-oil merchants, the dreamers, the circumventers, the guileful peddlers of One Weird Tricks.
—
Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 16 Dec. 2024
Some cynics are bound to exhort that this isn’t worth much of a hullabaloo.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
However, the changes might not be enough to satiate all cynics—while efforts have been made to attract a broader audience—luxury remains a cornerstone of the event.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2024
Anyone below Soler would have annoyed the cynics just as much as Canha.
—Grant Brisbee, The Athletic, 31 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for cynic 
Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 16 Dec. 2024
Some cynics are bound to exhort that this isn’t worth much of a hullabaloo.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
However, the changes might not be enough to satiate all cynics—while efforts have been made to attract a broader audience—luxury remains a cornerstone of the event.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2024
Anyone below Soler would have annoyed the cynics just as much as Canha.
—Grant Brisbee, The Athletic, 31 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for cynic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cynic
Noun
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Misery loves company; a misanthrope, however, does not.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
9 Jan. 2025
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Their characters, a panoply of misanthropes and weirdos, are often trapped in the prisons of their past.—
Holden Seidlitz,
The New Yorker,
10 June 2024
Noun
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French unions have argued museum jobs should be prioritized over the project, but art critics are joining in too, albeit for different reasons.—
The Editors of ARTnews,
ARTnews.com,
29 Jan. 2025
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The exchange highlights concerns about potential conflicts of interest, as Kennedy has been a vocal critic of vaccines and previously engaged in litigation against pharmaceutical companies.—
Hannah Parry,
Newsweek,
29 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Van der Lugt thinks the pessimist’s is more motivating and sees a danger in the optimist’s, because if things look so generally bright, why should anyone get off the couch?—
Gal Beckerman,
The Atlantic,
22 Jan. 2025
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Yes, but: AGI is also not well-defined, and both optimists and pessimists have complained that it's become a moving goalpost.—
Scott Rosenberg,
Axios,
17 Jan. 2025
Noun
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But Ohio State showed what resiliency looks like in the face of adversity, especially with a load of naysayers believing the Buckeyes once again wouldn’t be able to take their talented team to the title game.—
Scott Thompson,
Fox News,
22 Jan. 2025
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Novak Djokovic has defied the odds, the age, the naysayers and Tony Jones by beating Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open in a scintilating quarterfinal match.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes,
21 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Lawmakers fear the Chinese government could use the app to spy on Americans or disseminate pro-China propaganda, even though TikTok skeptics have never shown concrete examples of that happening.—
Bobby Allyn,
NPR,
17 Jan. 2025
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Carbon-capture skeptics say the technology is untested at scale and allows the fossil-fuel industry to continue largely unchanged.—
Matthew Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Jan. 2025
Video
The History of 'Cynic'
How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.
Thesaurus Entries Near cynic
Cite this Entry
“Cynic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cynic. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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