1-Stop Dictionary Reference

Cynic

Acceptable For Game Play - US & UK word lists

This word is acceptable for play in the US & UK dictionaries that are being used in the following games:

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

n. A person who believes all people are motivated by selfishness.

n. A person whose outlook is scornfully and often habitually negative.

n. A member of a sect of ancient Greek philosophers who believed virtue to be the only good and self-control to be the only means of achieving virtue.

adj. Cynical.

adj. Of or relating to the Cynics or their beliefs.

Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

adj. Churlish or satirical.

n. A person who believes that all people are motivated by selfishness.

n. A person whose outlook is scornfully negative.

the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

adj. Having the qualities of a surly dog; snarling; captious; currish.

adj. Pertaining to the Dog Star.

adj. Belonging to the sect of philosophers called cynics; having the qualities of a cynic; pertaining to, or resembling, the doctrines of the cynics.

adj. Given to sneering at rectitude and the conduct of life by moral principles; believing the worst of human nature and motives; disbelieving in the reality of any human purposes which are not suggested or directed by self-interest or self-indulgence; having a sneering disbelief in the selflessness of others; ; characterized by such opinions.

n. One of a sect or school of philosophers founded by Antisthenes, and of whom Diogenes was a disciple. The first Cynics were noted for austere lives and their scorn for social customs and current philosophical opinions. Hence the term Cynic symbolized, in the popular judgment, moroseness, and contempt for the views of others.

n. One who holds views resembling those of the Cynics; a snarler; a misanthrope; particularly, a person who believes that human conduct is directed, either consciously or unconsciously, wholly by self-interest or self-indulgence, and that appearances to the contrary are superficial and untrustworthy.

The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

Of or pertaining to a dog; dog-like: as, cynic spasm.

Of or pertaining to the dog-star: as, the cynic year.

Belonging to the sect of philosophers called Cynics; resembling the doctrines of the Cynics.

Having the character or qualities of a cynic; cynical.

n. [capitalized] One of a sect of Greek philosophers founded by Antisthenes of Athens (born about 444 b. c.), who sought to develop the ethical teachings of Socrates, whose pupil he was.

n. A person of a cynical temper; a sneering faultfinder.

WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

n. a member of a group of ancient Greek philosophers who advocated the doctrine that virtue is the only good and that the essence of virtue is self-control

n. someone who is critical of the motives of others

Word Usage

"He and his scruffy band of followers held that life should be conducted in accordance with nature to the point of performing bodily functions in public like dogs hence the term cynic, from the Greek word for dog."

Equivalent

cynical

Hypernym

Words that are more generic or abstract

philosopher

Cross Reference

philosopher cynic spasm cynic year

Synonym

Words with the same meaning

snarling captious currish snarler misanthrope

Rhyme

Words with the same terminal sound

clinic monoclinic

Same Context

Words that are found in similar contexts

pessimist misanthrope skeptic sentimentalist humorist