One of a sect or school of philosophers founded by Antisthenes, and of whom Diogenes was a disciple. The first Cynics were noted for austere lives and their scorn for social customs and current philosophical opinions. Hence the term Cynic symbolized, in the popular judgment, moroseness, and contempt for the views of others.
One who holds views resembling those of the Cynics; a snarler; a misanthrope; particularly, a person who believes that human conduct is directed, either consciously or unconsciously, wholly by self-interest or self-indulgence, and that appearances to the contrary are superficial and untrustworthy.
There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing. Maya Angelou
What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Oscar Wilde
A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin. H. L. Mencken
Cynic, n: a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be. Ambrose Bierce
An idealist believes the short run doesn't count. A cynic believes the long run doesn't matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run. Sydney J. Harris
