Cynical

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Cynic \Cyn"ic\ (s[i^]n"[i^]k), Cynical \Cyn"ic*al\ (-[i^]*kal),
     a. [L. cynicus of the sect of Cynics, fr. Gr. kyniko`s,
     prop., dog-like, fr. ky`wn, kyno`s, dog. See {Hound}.]
     1. Having the qualities of a surly dog; snarling; captious;
        currish.
  


              I hope it is no very cynical asperity not to confess
              obligations where no benefit has been received.
                                                    --Johnson.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Pertaining to the Dog Star; as, the cynic, or Sothic,
        year; cynic cycle.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Belonging to the sect of philosophers called cynics;
        having the qualities of a cynic; pertaining to, or
        resembling, the doctrines of the cynics.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. 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; as, a cynical man who scoffs at
        pretensions of integrity; characterized by such opinions;
        as, cynical views of human nature.
  
     Syn: misanthropic, misanthropical.
          [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: In prose, cynical is used rather than cynic, in the
           senses 1 and 4.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {Cynic spasm} (Med.), a convulsive contraction of the muscles
        of one side of the face, producing a sort of grin,
        suggesting certain movements in the upper lip of a dog.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  cynical
       adj : believing the worst of human nature and motives; having a
             sneering disbelief in e.g. selflessness of others [syn:
              {misanthropic}, {misanthropical}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  41 Moby Thesaurus words for "cynical":
     Cassandra-like, Cassandran, Cassandrian, Rabelaisian, Timonistic,
     antisocial, captious, carping, caustic, caviling, critical,
     defeatist, dismal, downbeat, dry, faultfinding, gloomy,
     hairsplitting, hypercritical, ironic, man-hating, misogynous,
     nagging, negative, negativistic, niggling, nihilistic,
     overcritical, pessimist, pessimistic, pettifogging, quibbling,
     sarcastic, sardonic, satiric, sexist, trichoschistic,
     ultracritical, uncheerful, unsociable, woman-hating