William Shakespeare
Playwright, Poet
"This goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory."
Cynicism quotes
Cynicism
156 quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Barack Obama
Politician
"In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?"
Marshall McLuhan
Philosopher, Media Theorist
"I don't necessarily agree with everything I say."
Friedrich Nietzsche
Philosopher, Writer
"Cynicism is the only form in which base souls approach honesty."
Gore Vidal
Writer, Essayist, Playwright
"A narcissist is someone better looking than you are."
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Topics related to Cynicism
Browse quotes that often appear alongside cynicism — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
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Cynicism quotes (page 1 of 8)
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"A cynic can chill and dishearten with a single word."
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"Cynics regarded everybody as equally corrupt... Idealists regarded everybody as equally corrupt, except themselves."
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"Perhaps no philosopher is more correct than the cynic. The happiness of the animal, that thorough cynic, is the living proof of cynicism."
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"I need a healthy injection of cynicism right now."
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"Kindness is the beginning of cruelty."
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"The major motivation theories by which most men live can lead them only to depression and cynicism."
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"I prefer credulity to skepticism and cynicism for there is more promise in almost anything than in nothing at all."
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"I understand the concept of optimism. But I think with me what you get is a lack of cynicism."
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"among a coward's weapons, cynicism is the nastiest of all"
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"Cynicism is humor in ill health."
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"in rejecting secrecy I had also rejected the road to cynicism."
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"It is cynicism and fear that freeze life; it is faith that thaws it out, releases it, sets it free."
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"An enemy is anyone who tells the truth about you."
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"I hate cynicism - it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere."
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"Irony: Don't let yourself be controlled by it, especially during uncreative moments."
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"Don't be a cynic and disconsolate preacher. Don't bewail and moan. Omit the negative propositions. Challenge us with incessant affirmatives."
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"Be polite to all, but intimate with few."
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"The greater part of the truth is always hidden, in regions out of the reach of cynicism."
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"Don't confuse my point of view with cynicism. The real cynics are the ones who tell you that everything's gonna be all right."
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"Out of the unconscious lips of babes and sucklings are we satirized."
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