CYNICISM Synonyms: 76 Similar and Opposite Words

cynicism

noun

Definition of cynicism

as in desperation

cynical beliefs; beliefs that people are generally selfish and dishonest Nothing could change her cynicism about politics.

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of cynicism Constant vigilance against the presence of AI inevitably begets cynicism and threatens to corrode the teacher-student relationship that is at the heart of education. — Dónal Gill, The Dial, 8 Sep. 2026 This wasn’t a real protection strategy; this was a symbolic update cloaked in the appearance of safety that ultimately breeds cynicism toward the brand. — Titania Jordan, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026 Like Warhol, Rouy makes work balancing on the razor’s edge between sincerity and cynicism. — David Lê, Curbed, 8 Sep. 2026 Yet their latest album as Immersion is a work of craft and caring, full of loose but meticulous grooves, open-hearted electronic melodies, and optimism that’s laced with cynicism but not sunk by it. — Reed Jackson, SPIN, 7 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cynicism

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cynicism

Noun

With four great games to choose from, and desperation from half of the teams, this is can’t-miss baseball.

— OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
What readers are saying The comments express strong criticism of Senate Republicans' last-minute legislative efforts before the midterm elections, suggesting these actions are driven by desperation rather than genuine concern for the public.

— Theodoric Meyer, Washington Post, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of desperation

Noun

Beat shows how so many of the sounds that were prevalent in the mid-’90s contained a unique, end-of-the century sadness.

— Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 4 Oct. 2026
People can experience grief, sadness, relief, conflict or combinations of these emotions after any pregnancy outcome.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of sadness

Noun

The tone creeps into despair as the scales fall from Sutskever’s eyes.

— E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
The cumulative effect of the bowl’s ambient violence (robbery, assault, and overdose abound) amounts to an open-air despair not unlike Fox News-style depictions of California as a wholesale war zone.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of despair

Noun

Because so many of Gunn’s friends died in San Francisco, a city where Gunn had found happiness and freedom, then these elegies are also a monument to a time of communal sorrow and mourning.

— Colm Tóibín, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Another decision that those who are rejected face, at least if anger is mixed in with sorrow, is where to direct that anger.

— George Loewenstein, Vogue, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of sorrow

Noun

They are finally revealed as the head-lamps of a gang of thieves, robbing a church, caught closer up, their faces occasionally emerging from the gloom.

— John Hopewell, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026
Inside, we were whisked away to a world of rain and candles and velvet and creepy houses and stormy, witchy gloom.

— Danielle Pergament, Allure, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of gloom

Noun

Women are more likely than men to report severe depression and hopelessness following breakups, but men are three to four times more likely to commit suicide.

— George Loewenstein, Vogue, 28 Sep. 2026
This year's report finds that levels of persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness among high schoolers have fallen in recent years – from 42% in 2021, to 40% in 2023 and 33% in 2025.

— Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of hopelessness

Noun

Republicans have expressed growing pessimism about their chances in the election, which will determine control of Congress, as the president has repeatedly dismissed concerns about high costs and gas prices as his unpopular war in Iran drags on.

— MICHELLE L. PRICE, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2026
Being the unintentional voice of political pessimism can make a person something of a pessimist.

— David Mack, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of pessimism

Noun

The question for me is whether or not Lloyd will also manage to capture the melancholy of a deceptively serious play, notwithstanding its reputation.

— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026
On the one hand, there’s a fascination with collective joy and the forms of vernacular invention that aspire to it; on the other, there’s an underlying melancholy that points to the inevitability of isolation, an epistemology of loneliness.

— Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of melancholy

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“Cynicism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cynicism. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of cynicism

noun

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