cynic
noun/ˈsɪnɪk/
/ˈsɪnɪk/
- a person who believes that people only do things to help themselves, rather than for good or sincere reasons
- Don’t be such a cynic!
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- a person who does not believe that something good will happen or that something is important
- Cynics will say that there is not the slightest chance of success.
Word Originmid 16th cent. originally relating to a member of a school of ancient Greek philosophers founded by Antisthenes: from Latin cynicus, from Greek kunikos; probably originally from Kunosarges, the name of a school where Antisthenes taught, but popularly taken to mean ‘doglike, churlish’, kuōn, kun-, ‘dog’ becoming a nickname for a Cynic.
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