cynicism
noun
cynical disposition, character, or belief.
cynicism
1
British
/ ˈsɪnɪˌsɪzəm /
noun
-
the attitude or beliefs of a cynic
-
a cynical action, remark, idea, etc
Cynicism
2
British
/ ˈsɪnɪˌsɪzəm /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of cynicism
Explanation
Cynicism is the feeling of distrust or that something isn't going to work out well. Some people feel cynicism when politicians make big promises. To pronounce cynicism, place the accent on the first syllable: "SIH-nuh-cih-zum." You might associate cynicism with sarcasm. Cynicism comes from believing that people are, at heart, selfish and untrustworthy. Sarcasm is the expression of negative feelings like cynicism, by expressing, for dramatic effect, the opposite of what is meant: "I'm quite sure that politician took that bribe by mistake. We all know how easy it is to overlook the sudden appearance of $2 million dollars in your checking account."
Vocabulary lists containing cynicism
Grade 10, List 1
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President Obama's Farewell Address
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1984
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"Northern Ireland has taught me that sometimes to break division, to break through cynicism and barriers, you've got to look for those allies in unexpected places and find common ground."
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
And even if that fact might make you depressed, scrolling will deplete one’s cynicism until it’s replaced by another attention-grabbing post.
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026
And yet fans suspend their cynicism for a few hours — for a tournament, for a season — because they know that the communion that soccer offers is pure and holy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
And there is so much cynicism in that play.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026
We have responded to this distant Austrian’s voice across the years and the continents so spontaneously because his music seems simply to flow out of him, intuitively, without cynicism or intellectual pretension.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Cynicism ahead of the Games is not a new thing, though.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Appeared in the June 16, 2026, print edition as 'Trump, Cynicism and the Deal'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Cynicism has the veneer of wisdom and people view it as a form of intelligence and a sign of experience.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2024
Skepticism, Not Cynicism I have fought my whole life to not be cynical, but to be skeptical.
From New York Times ● Oct. 5, 2022
He was born of Cynicism and of Introspection.
From The Dictator by Justin McCarthy
The girls' faces are fresh and untouched by the indulgences and cynicisms of city life.
From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2014
Gold will be accused of twin cynicisms – of jumping on the Olympics bandwagon and of manipulating its audience's emotions.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 2, 2012
The sly digressions of a slanting bishop, the rapid cynicisms of a threatened queen, the stormy contraditions of the agile castles—these provided dialect in which the finest abstractions could be stated.
From Time Magazine Archive
America's discussion and debate, its hopes and cynicisms about the post-war world, moved last week to a new plane.
From Time Magazine Archive
Lytton indited not a little bombast, Dickens had his incurable mannerisms, and Thackeray his conventional cynicisms.
From Studies in Early Victorian Literature by Frederic Harrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
