as in critics
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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Recent Examples of cynics
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
Smarmy cynics will call them foolish for their foolhardy ambitions.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
All one needs is to read the headlines today, 45 years down the road, to see that sometimes cynics have a point.
—George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024
Into this void emerge the cynics and the snake-oil merchants, the dreamers, the circumventers, the guileful peddlers of One Weird Tricks.
—Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 16 Dec. 2024
Until then, the industry must live with cynics carping from the sidelines.
—Ni Tao, Interesting Engineering, 5 Dec. 2024
Did the Megalopolis cynics show up last night?
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 4 Oct. 2024
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
Smarmy cynics will call them foolish for their foolhardy ambitions.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
All one needs is to read the headlines today, 45 years down the road, to see that sometimes cynics have a point.
—George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024
Into this void emerge the cynics and the snake-oil merchants, the dreamers, the circumventers, the guileful peddlers of One Weird Tricks.
—Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 16 Dec. 2024
Until then, the industry must live with cynics carping from the sidelines.
—Ni Tao, Interesting Engineering, 5 Dec. 2024
Did the Megalopolis cynics show up last night?
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 4 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cynics
Noun
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At the same time, the pushback from critics highlights that there is still debate about whether these safeguards go far enough.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
4 Oct. 2025
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But that effort is somewhat diminished by her history with policies that critics say work against women.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
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While naysayers might roll their eyes at another celebrity hopping on the book club bandwagon, a recent study conducted by iScience found that the proportion of the US population who read for pleasure on an average day declined over the last 20 years.—
Emily St. Martin,
Oc Register,
24 Sep. 2025
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And our naysayers are sitting there with egg on their face.—
Chris Kirkham,
USA Today,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
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For the pessimists, Coreweave is Lucent or Nortel.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
28 Sep. 2025
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But don’t listen to the pessimists who say there is no cure.—
Christina Dugan Ramirez,
FOXNews.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cynics.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cynics. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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