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
Other cynics tend to follow suit, sitting out elections and social movements more often than non-cynics.
—
Jamil Zaki, TIME, 3 Sep. 2024
In the verses, Bradley Cooper and Gaga’s lyrics and vocal lines are mirrored — two world-weary cynics serenading each other.
—Kristen S. Hé, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for cynic
Jamil Zaki, TIME, 3 Sep. 2024
In the verses, Bradley Cooper and Gaga’s lyrics and vocal lines are mirrored — two world-weary cynics serenading each other.
—Kristen S. Hé, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for cynic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cynic
Noun
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Edward is a misanthrope and a scold (The Imitation Game).—
Graham Hillard,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
21 Feb. 2025
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The late Swiss writer Markus Werner’s bleakly funny The Frog in the Throat, first published forty years ago, is a parallel portrait of father-and-son misanthropes and seems to speak directly to our moment.—
James Gleick,
The New York Review of Books,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The country’s economy is tottering and reliant on IMF bailouts, while the powerful military is entrenched in every aspect of life, according to its critics.—
Sophia Saifi,
CNN,
22 Feb. 2025
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The movie elicited mixed reviews from critics, but a green light from audiences.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
EW.com,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Optimists tend to live longer and have healthier lives than pessimists according to numerous research studies.—
Contributed Content,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
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Those eight additions will remedy last season’s injury woes, but for pessimists, the jury is out as to whether Villa’s best XI has actually been upgraded.—
Jacob Tanswell,
The Athletic,
7 Aug. 2024
Noun
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This fun comedy is a hidden gem on the streamer starring Eddie Murphy as real-life legend Rudy Ray Moore, a comedy and rap pioneer who proved naysayers wrong when his hilarious, obscene, kung-fu fighting alter ego, Dolemite, became a 1970s Blaxploitation phenomenon.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
14 Feb. 2025
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To naysayers, Lamar was too verbose, too political, too obscure for pop music’s biggest stage, which has typically featured culturally safe icons belting universally beloved anthems to the stadium rafters.—
Andrew R. Chow,
TIME,
10 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Supporters argue that would incentivize builders to develop more-affordable units, though that provision has also drawn criticism from reform skeptics.—
Seth Klamann,
The Denver Post,
20 Feb. 2025
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Yet history shows paradigm shifts often emerge because skeptics force innovators to confront hard limits.—
Luis E. Romero,
Forbes,
19 Feb. 2025
Video
The History of 'Cynic'
How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.
Cite this Entry
“Cynic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cynic. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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