as in desperation
cynical beliefs; beliefs that people are generally selfish and dishonest
Nothing could change her cynicism about politics.
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Recent Examples of cynicism
As a result, the Gold Cup still carries lesser importance to its participating nations (and particularly those who can realistically win the honor) than the Euros or Copa America, and is often viewed with as much cynicism as affection.
—
Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
Hardly anyone would prefer to be made the fool — healthy skepticism can prevent you from clicking on a phishing link in an email or joining a multilevel marketing scheme — but a life of cynicism isn’t preferable either.
—Allie Volpe, Vox, 7 May 2025
Dissections of power and masculinity that once bristled with adversarial vitality evolved into arid dialectics and windy anecdotes pickled in smug cynicism and lacking in thematic clarity.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 30 Apr. 2025
What united them all was an attempt to crowbar these classic characters into a contemporary setting that was inevitably accompanied by cynicism and condescension.
—EW.com, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cynicism
Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
Hardly anyone would prefer to be made the fool — healthy skepticism can prevent you from clicking on a phishing link in an email or joining a multilevel marketing scheme — but a life of cynicism isn’t preferable either.
—Allie Volpe, Vox, 7 May 2025
Dissections of power and masculinity that once bristled with adversarial vitality evolved into arid dialectics and windy anecdotes pickled in smug cynicism and lacking in thematic clarity.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 30 Apr. 2025
What united them all was an attempt to crowbar these classic characters into a contemporary setting that was inevitably accompanied by cynicism and condescension.
—EW.com, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cynicism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cynicism
Noun
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Years of economic dysfunction have left the country’s once-thriving middle class in a state of desperation.—
Kareem Chehayeb,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2025
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Based on Spoelstra’s success in driving the Heat to and through the playoffs, nothing dramatic needed here, certainly nothing like the Knicks’ act of desperation with Thibodeau.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
7 June 2025
Noun
-
Almost two decades later, his family — who spent years grappling with unanswered questions that only fueled their fear and despair — finally learned what happened to him.—
Sam Gillette,
People.com,
13 June 2025
-
My Guard’s presence tamped down potentially dangerous outbursts of anger and despair.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
13 June 2025
Noun
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To date, the Facebook post about her story has garnered more than 19,000 reactions, sparking a wave of sorrow and outrage from animal lovers across the country.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 June 2025
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Prefaced by a host of personal disasters—the death of her mother’s onetime partner Mary Norcross, her own hospitalization for digestive problems, her mother’s painful shingles and neuralgia—the decade of the 1940s brought sorrow.—
Susan Gubar
June 9,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2025
Noun
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Not all ‘doom and gloom’ Nevertheless, the global business travel market is still on track to top $1.6 trillion by the end of 2025, Neufang said.—
Monica Pitrelli,
CNBC,
29 May 2025
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The film is quite handsome, full of woodsy earth tones and dark clothing, without any bright colors to get in the way of the meditative gloom.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
21 May 2025
Noun
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The vigilante narrative imagines markets populated by sellers only, except that a seller requires a buyer to transact on his, her or – gasp – some computer’s pessimism about the quality of future government income streams.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
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Reinforcing this historical Chinese pessimism toward the United States is an increasingly widespread and firm belief sustained by the Chinese Communist Party that Washington is committed to containing and weakening China as a nation in order to sustain its own global hegemonic power.—
Michael Swaine,
Twin Cities,
17 May 2025
Noun
-
That betrayal, like so many others, fed the melancholy in Brian's music.—
Philip Martin,
Arkansas Online,
15 June 2025
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With melancholy and playfulness both, Seed threads in her own introspective voice-over and contemporary footage (poring over material, visiting her dad, sparring with a boyfriend).—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cynicism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cynicism. Accessed 20 Jun. 2025.
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