The cynical historian questioned the philanthropist's motives, suspecting that the generous donation was merely a tax deduction.
这位愤世嫉俗的历史学家质疑慈善家的动机，怀疑这笔慷慨的捐赠仅仅是为了减税。
Which choice best defines “cynical”?
A — Distrustful of others’ motives.. “cynical” means Distrustful of others’ motives..
Which word means “Distrustful of others’ motives.”?
B — cynical. “cynical” means Distrustful of others’ motives..
cynical — Distrustful of others’ motives.. In Chinese: 愤世嫉俗的；怀疑的.
cynical is pronounced //ˈsɪnɪkl//.
The cynical historian questioned the philanthropist's motives, suspecting that the generous donation was merely a tax deduction. (这位愤世嫉俗的历史学家质疑慈善家的动机，怀疑这笔慷慨的捐赠仅仅是为了减税。)
skeptical, distrustful, suspicious — all close in meaning to cynical (Distrustful of others’ motives.).
trusting, optimistic — each the opposite of cynical (Distrustful of others’ motives.).
Yes. cynical is on the SAT Prep Difficult list — the higher-register words that decide the hard questions. The Digital SAT does not test vocabulary in isolation; words like this one are tested through Words in Context questions, where you choose the word that completes a passage most logically and precisely.
cynic(犬儒) → 对人性存疑。