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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Even an otherwise neutral comment can be contorted into a sarcastic retort, an insult or a counterattack.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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On the par-4 14th, Scheffler splashed out of a greenside bunker to 10 feet, missed the par putt, and then, without hesitation, threw a sarcastic fist pump toward the hole.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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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
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But the national prognostications for Miami seem especially pessimistic after last season’s 8-9 record followed four consecutive winning seasons.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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However, a number of attendees posted negative comments about the event on social media, with many claiming that the experience was chaotic and poorly organized.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
6 Sep. 2025
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But let’s face it - any kind of drama on social media, positive or negative, is good for any reality competition show (or any series, for that matter).—
Marc Berman,
Forbes.com,
6 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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Gustafson is skeptical, but certain.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
8 Sep. 2025
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The elaborateness of these explanations, in Frank’s view, is a reason to be skeptical of them.—
Matthew Hutson,
New Yorker,
7 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 11 Sep. 2025.
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