Meanings
cynicism1
nouncynicism (countable and uncountable, plural cynicisms)
plural cynicisms
- uncountableA distrustful attitude.
- uncountableAn emotion of jaded negativity, or a general distrust of the integrity or professed motives of others, due to belief that people are motivated solely by disguised self-interest.
- countableA scornfully pessimistic comment or act.
- uncountablehuman sciencesA school of thought in the philosophy of Ancient Greece.
Cynicism2
proper noun
- the philosophy of the Greek Cynics
Origin
Translations
Afrikaans sinisme
- sinismeskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Ancient Greek Κυνισμός
- Κυνισμός (Kunismós)philosophy of the Cynics
Bulgarian цини́зъм
- цини́зъм (cinízăm)skeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Catalan cinisme
- cinismeskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Chinese Mandarin 犬儒主義 /犬儒主义
- 犬儒主義 /犬儒主义 (quǎnrúzhǔyì)skeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Czech cynismus
- cynismusskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Danish kynisme
- kynismeskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Dutch cynisme
- cynismeskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Esperanto cinikismo
- cinikismoskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Estonian künism
- künismskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Finnish kyynisyys
- kyynisyysskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
French cynisme
- cynismeskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
German Zynismus
- Zynismusskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Greek κυνισμός
- κυνισμός (kynismós)skeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Hungarian cinizmus
- cinizmusskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Italian cinismo
- cinismoskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Japanese 皮肉, キニク主義
- 皮肉 (hiniku)skeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
- キニク主義 (kinikushugi)skeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
- シニシズム (shinizumu)skeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
- 冷笑 (reishō)skeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
- 冷笑主義 (reishōshugi)skeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Korean 냉소, 랭소
- 냉소 (naengso)skeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
- 랭소 (raengso)skeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
- 냉소주의 (naengsojuui)skeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
- 랭소주의 (raengsojuui)skeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Latvian cinisms
- cinismsskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Lithuanian cinizmas
- cinizmasskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Malay sinisme, sinisisme
- sinismeskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
- sinisismeskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Norwegian Bokmål kynisme
- kynismeskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Polish cynizm
- cynizmskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Portuguese cinismo
- cinismoskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Romanian cinism
- cinismskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Russian цини́зм
- цини́зм (cinízm)skeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Slovak cynizmus
- cynizmusskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Spanish cinismo
- cinismoskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Swedish cynism
- cynismskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Turkish sinizm
- sinizmskeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Ukrainian цині́зм
- цині́зм (cynízm)skeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude
Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
APA
cynicism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cynicism
MLA
“cynicism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cynicism. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cynicism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cynicism.
Source: cynicism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.