cynicism

[sin-uh-siz-uhm]

noun

1. cynical disposition, character, or belief.

2. a cynical remark.

3. (initial capital letter),  any of the doctrines or practices of the Cynics.

cynicism

¹

/ ˈsɪnɪˌsɪzəm /

noun

1. the attitude or beliefs of a cynic

2. a cynical action, remark, idea, etc

Cynicism

²

/ ˈsɪnɪˌsɪzəm /

noun

1. the doctrines of the Cynics

Other Word Forms

• anticynicism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cynicism¹

First recorded in 1665–75; cynic + -ism

Example Sentences

It’s easy to miss the confidence of Billy Wilder or Frank Capra whenever some brave soul tries to make a comedy that takes America’s temperature by straddling cynicism and optimism.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It was the kind of cynicism that poses as sophistication—the belief that Benjamin Netanyahu was continuing the Gaza war for his own political purposes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Even as she changed our understanding of the natural world, Dr Goodall faced cynicism and sexism.

Read more on BBC

It began as an unstable blend of wildly ambitious idealism, great-power cynicism and mind-numbing bureaucracy, and that combination has defined it ever since.

Read more on Salon

And, holding down the heart of the film with a gravity it probably doesn’t deserve, is Redford, running his techno-security squad with just the right balance of seen-it-all cynicism, idealism and swagger.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bitterness 
• distrust 
• doubt 
• pessimism 
• sarcasm