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
Ari Tan) Bitter after losing his job, Jonathan recruits a down-on-her-luck actress and a cynical playboy to aid in his journey from Mexico to Panama before spinal surgery.
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Matthew Carey, Deadline, 13 May 2025
But Kat's world is soon turned upside down by Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger), an edgy new student who challenges her cynical views.
—Jen Juneau, People.com, 9 May 2025
Millay’s sonnets reckon with the end of love not in a spirit of swooning regret but with brisk, sometimes cynical acceptance.
—A.o. Scott, New York Times, 1 May 2025
These final years are sometimes treated as a lost period, because Twain’s writing grew bitter and cynical and unpalatable to those more interested in pleasing escapades.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for cynical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cynical
Adjective
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In the absence of such confidence, the aesthetic would be frivolous and decadent, or bitterly ironic.—
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This is especially — and tragically — ironic because the current problems derive largely from the largest peacetime expansion of the money supply in at least a century.—
Adjective
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While the jeers towards Xhaka followed the midfielder, Arsenal’s captain at the time, retaliating to sarcastic cheers from the crowd at him being replaced in an October 2019 home match against Crystal Palace, those directed at Eboue were due to his performance.—
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His first half was littered with increasingly ridiculous highlights: a lefty hook over Isaiah Hartenstein, a potpourri of 3s with hands in his face, a sarcastic stare-down after his defender tried taking a charge, followed by a pass to himself off the backboard to simplify the finish.—
Adjective
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While downgrades are nothing new, Moody’s cited six factors — an unusually large number, with all of them related in one way or the other to Trump policies — for its pessimistic forecast.—
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Consumers have the most pessimistic outlook since October 2011, according to the Conference Board, driven by fears surrounding tariffs, inflation and the possibility of a recession.—
Adjective
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Even with her negative experience, Hamby has noticed a growing shift in support under the current CBA, which is set to expire after this season.—
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The constant consumption of negative news and content can activate the body's stress response, Aguvaveedi reported.—
Adjective
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Brief yet dense and full of misanthropic humor, Portal holds the hell up nearly twenty years later.—
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To describe Mickey 17 as a sendup, by the way, is to distinguish it from satire, which would require a deeper cynicism or genuine misanthropic disdain.—
Adjective
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Hannah Harriman, a Marquette County Health Department nurse who previously spent 12 years working for Planned Parenthood of Marquette, is skeptical of any suggestion that telehealth can replace a rural brick-and-mortar clinic.—
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Klein is skeptical that the Trump Administration will usher in a new era of building things.—
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 25 May. 2025.
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