cynically
UK/ˈsɪn.ɪk.(ə.)li/
cynically adverb: in a cynical manner.
Adverb
cynically (comparative more cynically, superlative most cynically)
- In a cynical manner.
- It was not only the brilliant phalanx of virtuous dowagers, generals and academicians with whom he was most intimately associated that Swann so cynically compelled to serve him as panders.1992, Moncrieff/Kilmartin/Enright, translating Marcel Proust, Swann’s Way, Folio Society 2005, p. 190
- And overseeing them all, like a raddled old good-ish fairy, is Bill Nighy, playing a superannuated rocker hoping to get a Christmas number one with his cynically repackaged version of Love Is All Around.2003 November 21, Peter Bradshaw, “Love Actually”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 06 Mar 2026
Forms of cynically
| comparative | more cynically |
|---|---|
| superlative | most cynically |
Origin of cynically
From cynical + -ly.
Questions about cynically
- What does cynically mean?
- Cynically means in a cynical manner.
- What part of speech is cynically?
- Cynically is an adverb.
- How do you pronounce cynically?
- Cynically is pronounced /ˈsɪn.ɪk.(ə.)li/ (UK).
Words near cynically in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: cynically (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-cynically.wav.
Cite this entry: “cynically.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cynically. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.