Cyn"ic (s?n"?k), Cyn"ic*al (-?-kal), a. [L. cynicus of the sect of Cynics, fr. Gr. , prop., dog-like, fr. , , dog. See Hound.]

1.

Having the qualities of a surly dog; snarling; captious; currish.

I hope it is no very cynical asperity not to confess obligations where no benefit has been received. Johnson.

2.

Pertaining to the Dog Star; as, the cynic, or Sothic, year; cynic cycle.

3.

Belonging to the sect of philosophers called cynics; having the qualities of a cynic; pertaining to, or resembling, the doctrines of the cynics.

4.

Given to sneering at rectitude and the conduct of life by moral principles; disbelieving in the reality of any human purposes which are not suggested or directed by self-interest or self-indulgence; as, a cynical man who scoffs at pretensions of integrity; characterized by such opinions; as, cynical views of human nature.

⇒ In prose, cynical is used rather than cynic, in the senses 1 and 4.

Cynic spasm Med., a convulsive contraction of the muscles of one side of the face, producing a sort of grin, suggesting certain movements in the upper lip of a dog.

 

© Webster 1913.