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What (who) is cynic - definition
Cynic
·adj ·Alt. of Cynical.
II. Cynic ·noun 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.
III. Cynic ·noun 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.
cynic
['s?n?k]
¦ noun
1. a person who believes that people are motivated purely by self-interest.
a sceptic.
2. (Cynic) a member of a school of ancient Greek philosophers characterized by an ostentatious contempt for wealth and pleasure.
Derivatives
cynicism noun
Origin
C16: from L. cynicus, from Gk kunikos; prob. orig. from Kunosarges, the name of a gymnasium where Antisthenes (the founder of the school of philosophy) taught, but popularly taken to mean 'doglike, churlish', kuon, kun-, 'dog' becoming a nickname for a Cynic.
cynic
(cynics)
A cynic is someone who believes that people always act selfishly.
I have come to be very much of a cynic in these matters.
N-COUNT
Examples of use of cynic
1. "Khamenei has remained an idealist while Rafsanjani became a cynic.
2. Raghav Shastri (Nana Patekar) is a short tempered cynic.
3. This is coming from someone who was a cynic," Sen.
4. The Chancellor, by contrast, comes over as a cynic.
5. Knifings and violent behavior at nightclubs have begun to pay off, the cynic will say.