Cynical Meaning
/ˈsɪnɪkəl/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjOf or relating to the belief that human actions are motivated only or primarily by base desires or selfishness.
adjSkeptical of the integrity, sincerity, or motives of others.
Sentence Examples
I resent your cynical remarks.
He always makes cynical remarks to me.
Advertising like this is a cynical manipulation of the elderly.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her ____ attitude discouraged colleagues from sharing their creative ideas.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I resent your ____ remarks.
Word Origin & History
Originated 1542, from Classical Latin cynicus (“Cynic/cynic”, adjective) + -al. By surface analysis, cynic + -al. In reference to dogs, with allusion to the ultimate etymology (Ancient Greek κυνικός (kunikós, “doglike”)).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I hope it is no very cynical asperity not to confess obligations where no benefit has been received."
— 1755, Samuel Johnson, To the Earl of Chesterfield:
"He seldom talked, and when he did, it was usually to make some cynical remark-for instance, he would say that God had given him a tail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner have had no tail and no flies."
— 1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:
"On any given day, those who get their news from the loudest voices on the right—Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Breitbart News—are bombarded with partisan propaganda, conspiracy theories, and cynical rage-bait."
— 2020 January 31, McKay Coppins, “The Conservatives Trying to Ditch Fake News”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 25 Mar 2020:
"When he, at Neergard's cynical suggestion, had consented to exploit his own club[…]and had consented to resign from it to do so, he had every reason to believe that Neergard meant to either mulct them heavily or buy them out. In either case, having been useful to Neergard, his profits from the transaction would have been considerable."
— 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter X, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
"Towards noon, he experienced convulsive movements; the extremities became stiff, the pulse extremely small, and he died during an attack of cynical spasm."
— 1818, Matthieu Joseph Bonaventure Orfila, A Treatise on Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal Poisons, Considered as to their Relations with Physiology, Pathology, and Medical Jurisprudence:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her ____ attitude discouraged colleagues from sharing their creative ideas.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I resent your ____ remarks.