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.