cynical
SIN-i-kuhl, adjective
Believing people act mainly from self-interest.
“Years in sales had made him cynical about limited-time offers.”
Where cynical comes from
From the Greek for doglike, which is what Athens called the Cynic philosophers.
Difficulty: beginner. One of 440 entries written and checked by hand.
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Nearby: curtail cynosure All 440 words More word origins
Found in: Negative words to describe a person