misanthrope

mis·an·thrope

noun \ˈmi-s^ən-ˌthrōp\

Definition of MISANTHROPE

: a person who hates or distrusts humankind

Examples of MISANTHROPE

1. <a former misanthrope who now professes a newly discovered love of mankind>
2. Many members of the contemporary movie audience, only marginally socialized, would have made a misanthrope of Gandhi; they undermine every argument for intelligent design in the universe. —James Morris, Wilson Quarterly, Autumn 2005
3. It is perhaps not the healthiest tendency for a man who is already if not a hermit at least a part-time misanthrope. —Edmund White, Vanity Fair, September 1996
4. Rather she is the genuine article, a misanthrope so pure she can't understand “why solitary confinement is considered punishment.” —Lewis Burke Frumkes, New York Times Book Review, 10 May 1992
5. The young people thought him a gloomy misanthrope, because he never joined in their sports—the old men thought still more hardly of him, because he followed no trade, … —Washington Irving, [Salmagundi November 24, 1807], in History, Tales, and Sketches, 1977

Origin of MISANTHROPE

Greek misanthrōpos hating humankind, from misein to hate + anthrōpos human being

First Known Use: 1683

Related to MISANTHROPE

Synonyms: cynic, naysayer, pessimist

Related Words: misandrist, misogynist; doubter, negativist, skeptic; belittler, critic, derider, detractor, scoffer; malcontent; defeatist, quitter

Near Antonyms: optimist, Pollyanna, positivist; idealist, sentimentalist

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Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

Rhymes with MISANTHROPE

antelope, antipope, arthroscope, biotope, bronchoscope, bunny slope, calliope, cryoscope, endoscope, envelope, episcope, epitope, fluoroscope, forlorn hope, gastroscope, gyroscope, horoscope, interlope, isotope, kinescope, microscope, periscope, phalarope, radarscope, slippery slope, sniperscope, spectroscope, telescope