meaning of cynical
1. Having the qualities of a surly dog; snarling; captious; currish.
2. Pertaining to the Dog Star; as, the cynic, or Sothic, year; cynic cycle.
3. Belonging to the sect of philosophers called cynics; having the qualities of a cynic; pertaining to, or resembling, the doctrines of the cynics.
4. Given to sneering at rectitude and the conduct of life by moral principles; disbelieving in the reality of any human purposes which are not suggested or directed by self-interest or self-indulgence; as, a cynical man who scoffs at pretensions of integrity; characterized by such opinions; as, cynical views of human nature.
5. believing the worst of human nature and motives; having a sneering disbelief in e. g. selflessness of others
Related Words
cynical | cynically | cynicalness |
