cynical

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“
Though Mesa admires the democratic principles on which the U.S. was founded, he opposes what he terms the cynical lack of application of those values, including the denial of due process to Guantanamo detainees under former President Bush.

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. adjective Believing or showing the belief that people are motivated chiefly by base or selfish concerns; skeptical of the motives of others: a cynical dismissal of the politician's promise to reform the campaign finance system.
  2. adjective Selfishly or callously calculating: showed a cynical disregard for the safety of his troops in his efforts to advance his reputation.
  3. adjective Negative or pessimistic, as from world-weariness: a cynical view of the average voter's intelligence.
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Examples (50)

  • For the cynical, the good cheer might arise from the simple fact that given the way things are right now, it can only get better.
  • I wasn't trying to be cynical -- sorry if it came across that way. —  Blog updates
  • So it's with that background that I assure you that an evening of cabaret dinner theater at the Overture Center for the Arts entertained even me -- cynical, stick-in-the-mud me.
  • Dolnick's tone is zestfully cynical, his chronology impressionistic, as he romps through Van Meegeren's misdeeds, placing front-and-center the painter's most famous victim, Hermann Goering. —  Powell's Books: Overview
  • And don't be cynical, and assume that the method is worthless. —  xml's Blinklist.com
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

contemptuous ·  ironic ·  arrogant ·  selfish ·  malicious ·  cruel ·  humorous ·  suspicious ·  shrewd ·  indifferent ·  careless ·  sullen
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

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/ˈsɪnɪkəl/
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