cynic
/ˈsɪnɪk/
"cynic" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cynic” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #36,510 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #36,510
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 13
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person whose outlook is scornfully negative.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cynic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɪnɪk/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #36,510 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 13 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cynic” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for cynic is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɪnɪk/. Corpus data places it at rank #36,510 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for cynic, with forms such as "ccynic", "cnyic", and "cyinc". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 13 confusable-pair relationships, "Cyril", "cystic", "cynical", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cynike, cynicke, from Middle French cynique, from Latin cynicus, from Ancient Greek κυνικός (kunikós), originally derived from the portico in Athens called Κυνόσαργες (Kunósarges), the earliest home of the Cynic school, later reinterpret… The correct English form is cynic, spelled C-Y-N-I-C.
Definition
- 1A person whose outlook is scornfully negative.
- 2A person who believes that all people are motivated by selfishness.
Etymology
From Middle English cynike, cynicke, from Middle French cynique, from Latin cynicus, from Ancient Greek κυνικός (kunikós), originally derived from the portico in Athens called Κυνόσαργες (Kunósarges), the earliest home of the Cynic school, later reinterpreted as being derived from κύων (kúōn, “dog”), in a contemptuous allusion to the uncouth and aggressive manners adopted by the members of the school.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccynic,cnyic,cyinc,cynci,cynicc,cynnic,cyynic,ycnic
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cynic - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “cynic”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-Y-N-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsɪnɪk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Cyril” - see the side-by-side comparison. cynic vs Cyril
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.