In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.
CYNICAL
cynical, misanthropic, misanthropical
(adjective) believing the worst of human nature and motives; having a sneering disbelief in e.g. selflessness of others
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
Cynical (not comparable)
Of or relating to the Cynics, a sect of Ancient Greek philosophers who believed virtue to be the only good and self-control to be the only means of achieving virtue.
Anagrams
• calycin
Etymology
Adjective
cynical (comparative more cynical, superlative most cynical)
Of or relating to the belief that human actions are motivated only or primarily by base desires or selfishness.
Skeptical of the integrity, sincerity, or motives of others.
Bitterly or jadedly distrustful or contemptuous; mocking.
Showing contempt for accepted moral standards by one's actions.
(medicine, rare) Like the actions of a snarling dog, especially in reference to facial nerve paralysis.
Anagrams
• calycin
Source: Wiktionary
Cyn"ic (sn"k), Cyn"ic*al (--kal), a. Etym: [L. cynicus of the sect of Cynics, fr. Gr. 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.
Note: 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
10 May 2025
BEATIFY
(verb) declare (a dead person) to be blessed; the first step of achieving sainthood; “On Sunday, the martyr will be beatified by the Vatican”
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