misanthrope

[mis-uh n-throhp, miz-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR misanthrope ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a hater of humankind.

Also mis·an·thro·pist

[mis-an-thruh-pist, miz‐] /mɪsˈæn θrə pɪst, mɪz‐/.

Origin of misanthrope

1555–65; noun use of Greek mīsánthrōpos hating humankind, misanthropic. See mis-², anthropo-

Le Misanthrope

[French luh mee-zahn-trawp]

noun

a comedy (1666) by Molière.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for misanthrope

doubter, egotist, skeptic, loner, egoist, misanthropist, recluse, cynic, hater, isolate

Examples from the Web for misanthrope

Contemporary Examples of misanthrope

You have some surface similarities to Richard Morris, the misanthrope at the center of Perforated Heart.
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Jerk
Lizzie Stark
May 5, 2009

Historical Examples of misanthrope

The misanthrope and the reckless are neither agitated nor agonised.
Vivian Grey
Earl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli
But how is it that you alone, Antisthenes, you misanthrope, love nobody?
The Symposium
Xenophon
He found comfort in the fact that Molire's Misanthrope was on his side.
Parodies of Ballad Criticism (1711-1787)
William Wagstaffe
And whether there were no means of inducing him to cease to be a Misanthrope?
St. Ronan's Well
Sir Walter Scott
Misanthrope is the potato: rough and repulsive outside, but good to the core.
White Lies
Charles Reade

British Dictionary definitions for misanthrope

misanthrope

misanthropist (mɪˈzænθrəpɪst)

noun

a person who dislikes or distrusts other people or mankind in general

Derived Formsmisanthropic (ˌmɪzənˈθrɒpɪk) or misanthropical, adjectivemisanthropically, adverbmisanthropy (mɪˈzænθrəpɪ), noun

Word Origin for misanthrope

C17: from Greek mīsanthrōpos, from misos hatred + anthrōpos man

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for misanthrope

"one who hates mankind," 1560s, from Greek misanthropos "hating mankind," from misein "to hate" (see miso-) + anthropos "man" (see anthropo-). Alternative form misanthropist is attested from 1650s.