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
The belief by cynics is that Netflix wants to be a streaming service.
—
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 26 Dec. 2025
On the other hand, skeptics and cynics tend to be insistent right now that the clean-up activity is not going to last very long.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Travis Kelce knows what the cynics might think of his relationship with Taylor Swift — two of the most famous people in America just happen to match up perfectly?
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2025
Erudite cynics like Karl Rove have written that gerrymandering has been around as long as there have been politicians and districts and that public officials invariably become inured to their own hypocrisy.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cynic
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 26 Dec. 2025
On the other hand, skeptics and cynics tend to be insistent right now that the clean-up activity is not going to last very long.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Travis Kelce knows what the cynics might think of his relationship with Taylor Swift — two of the most famous people in America just happen to match up perfectly?
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2025
Erudite cynics like Karl Rove have written that gerrymandering has been around as long as there have been politicians and districts and that public officials invariably become inured to their own hypocrisy.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cynic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cynic
Noun
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The story follows a rag-tag group of misanthropes who attempt to rob jewels from the Vatican.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
10 Mar. 2026
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Clavicular is the poster child—though by no means the most extreme representative—of the looksmaxxing movement, the latest permutation of an ideology developed by too online misogynist misanthropes in the twenty-tens.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Proposition 50 also split the sprawling district held by Kiley, a Republican from Rocklin, into six pieces, leaving the Northern California congressman and frequent Newsom critic with few good options.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
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Be fully yourself and ignore critics.—
Magi Helena,
Dallas Morning News,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Steel yourself; the pessimists will have gravitas.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
8 Mar. 2026
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January’s 130,000 gain quieted the pessimists, proving that the labor market had found a floor.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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RedHawks coach Travis Steele is right to bristle at the naysayers, though.—
Dave Skretta,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
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Despite the judgments and the naysayers, these kinds of memoirs have outlasted the critiques—and prevailed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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And in September, the banking giant Morgan Stanley, long a blockchain skeptic, decided to partner with a crypto infrastructure provider to let its brokerage customers trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum in the first half of 2026.—
Ben Weiss,
Fortune,
12 Mar. 2026
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In each case, skeptics used the scientific method to produce data that disproved the incumbent theory.—
Noubar Afeyan,
Time,
9 Mar. 2026
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 13 Mar. 2026.
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