CYNIC
What does "CYNIC" mean?
A person who believes that people are motivated purely by self-interest, distrusting sincerity.
Meanings
- Someone who doubts that human conduct is ever genuinely sincere or selfless. The cynic in him assumed every kind gesture had a hidden price.
- A member of an ancient Greek school of philosophy that rejected wealth and convention in favour of a simple, virtuous life. Diogenes, the most famous Cynic, is said to have lived in a large jar. archaic
Did you know?
- 'Cynic' literally means 'dog-like': the ancient Greek Cynics earned the nickname for living rough and shameless as stray dogs, and their figurehead Diogenes is said to have slept in a large clay jar.
Word origin
From Greek 'kynikos', meaning dog-like, from 'kyon', a dog - a nickname for the ancient philosophers who scorned comfort and convention.
Remember it
A CYNIC says 'see, nick' - he always assumes someone's about to nick something.
A little poem
He weighs each kindness for its hook,
reads the gift and not the look-
and wonders why no hand he shook.
tercet
What it teaches
Expect the worst and you will rarely be surprised - or ever truly met.
Quick facts
What does CYNIC mean?
A person who believes that people are motivated purely by self-interest, distrusting sincerity.
Is CYNIC a valid word?
Yes — CYNIC is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is CYNIC?
CYNIC has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does CYNIC come from?
From Greek 'kynikos', meaning dog-like, from 'kyon', a dog - a nickname for the ancient philosophers who scorned comfort and convention.
What can CYNIC teach us?
Expect the worst and you will rarely be surprised - or ever truly met.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.