as in ironical
having or showing a deep distrust of human beings and their motives
so cynical that he can't understand why anyone would volunteer to help out at a homeless shelter
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Recent Examples of cynical
Mare has mostly given up on her dreams and is in a cynical place when Ned arrives.
—
Michael Schneider, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
Levack, herself a former critic, is cynical about a few things, but the act of criticism isn’t one of them.
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
The story is told by the cynical (and unreliable) film scout Striker, often in hallucinations and flashbacks.
—Lizz Schumer, People.com, 31 Aug. 2025
There’s a cynical take that says performers are just the last jobs left to automate.
—Seth Yudof, Rolling Stone, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cynical
Michael Schneider, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
Levack, herself a former critic, is cynical about a few things, but the act of criticism isn’t one of them.
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
The story is told by the cynical (and unreliable) film scout Striker, often in hallucinations and flashbacks.
—Lizz Schumer, People.com, 31 Aug. 2025
There’s a cynical take that says performers are just the last jobs left to automate.
—Seth Yudof, Rolling Stone, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cynical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cynical
Adjective
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Will those same places later serve as ironic backdrops for bloody shootouts?—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
9 Sep. 2025
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The line is calculated to appeal to a clientele of women rather like Freud herself—bohemian, elegant, subtle, ironical.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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His witty, sarcastic, and often controversial commentary is the soundtrack to a generation of wrestling fans.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
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She’s matched wonderfully by Cooke, who leans into her actual Manchester accent to give Cherry a stroppy, sarcastic bent and whose body looks absolutely banging wrapped in an array of oxblood, maroon, and cerise minidresses.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Losing confidence in landing a job Americans are increasingly pessimistic about their prospects of getting a new job.—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
9 Sep. 2025
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Initial assumptions reacting to the April surge in volatility in the financial markets were broadly pessimistic.—
George Calhoun,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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There is also, generally speaking, universal admission that boy, this game sure runs terribly on PC, leading to a huge number of negative Steam reviews, causing the game to be Mixed there.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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Then, there’s the power to see through all of that, through what could be perceived as pain or a negative situation, and see the colorfulness of my culture, the warmth of my culture, and the community, as well.—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Wood starred as hopeless romantic Chelsea, who was on vacation with her older, misanthropic boyfriend Rick (Walton Goggins).—
EW.com,
EW.com,
28 May 2025
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Brief yet dense and full of misanthropic humor, Portal holds the hell up nearly twenty years later.—
Joshua Rivera,
Vulture,
6 May 2025
Adjective
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Gurrola’s parents were skeptical at first, but the store’s Dubai chocolate strawberry cups have sold well.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
15 Sep. 2025
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The move, however, would need a constitutional amendment approved by 60 percent of voters—and some experts are skeptical of how the state's local governments would manage without property taxes.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 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
“Cynical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cynical. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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