From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcynicalcyn‧i‧cal /ˈsɪnɪkəl/ ●○○ adjective 1 BELIEVEunwilling to believe that people have good, honest, or sincere reasons for doing something a cynical view of human naturecynical about The public is cynical about election promises.2 not caring that something might not be morally right, might hurt someone etc, when you are trying to get something for yourself a cynical disregard for international agreements —cynically /-kli/ adverb
Examples from the Corpus
cynical• I think movie stars just do charity work to get publicity - but maybe I'm too cynical.• Indeed, without specific performance consequences, most of us quickly grow cynical.• Since her divorce, she's become very cynical about men.• But even the most cynical agree that good fortune is the mark of every top-flight politician.• They're using sex in a cynical attempt to sell more books.• Labour's agnostic compromise was too clumsy and seemed more like cynical calculation to voters.• a cynical journalist• Even if Robbie had been in the mood for laughter, it would have been a cynical mirth.• The most cynical of men could not repudiate what had physically happened in front of thousands.• I do not mean to appear fatalistic, self-pitying, cynical, or maudlin...• This is a clear indication of the effectiveness of the cynical propaganda used by political and military leaders.• an author with a cynical view of lifecynical about• Voters have become cynical about the influence of interest groups on politicians. 