cyni·cal (sin′i kəl)
adjective
- believing that people are motivated in all their actions only by selfishness; denying the sincerity of people's motives and actions, or the value of living
- sarcastic, sneering, etc.
| cyn·i·cism n. 1. An attitude of scornful or jaded negativity, especially a general distrust of the integrity or professed motives of others: 2. A scornfully or jadedly negative comment or act Cynicism originally comprised the various philosophies of a group of ancientGreeks called the Cynics, founded by Antisthenes in about the 4th century BC. The Cynics rejected all conventions, whether of religion, manners, housing, dress, or decency, advocating the pursuit of virtue in a simple and unmaterialistic lifestyle. By the 19th century, emphasis on the negative aspects of Cynic philosophy led to a new and very different understanding of cynicism to mean an attitude of jaded negativity, and a general distrust of the integrity or professed motives of other people. Modern cynicism, as a product of mass society, is a distrust toward professed ethical and social values, especially when there are high expectations concerning society, institutions and authorities which are unfulfilled. Cynicism can manifest itself as a result of frustration, disillusionment, and distrust perceived as due to organizations, authorities and other aspects of society, and thus is roughly equivalent to a substantive form of the English word "jaded". I think I am quite possibly the queen of cynicism. |
