noun
misanthrope
MIS-un-throhp/ˈmɪsənθrəʊp/
A person who dislikes or distrusts people in general.
The novel's narrator is a misanthrope who distrusts everyone.
Etymology
The Greek components describe someone “hating humankind.” The English sense also covers distrust of human character or motives, so the hostility can take the form of suspicion rather than outright hatred.
In context
I was a young misanthrope after that. Didn’t want to be friends with any one.
More examples
- Not every shy person is a misanthrope.
- His constant complaints about humanity make him sound like a misanthrope.
- The two misanthropes agree that people rarely act out of kindness.
Forms
misanthrope · misanthropes
misanthropy noun — Dislike or distrust of people in general.
misanthropic adjective — Disliking or distrusting people in general.
Similar words
- cynic
- Distrusts people's motives, without necessarily disliking people in general.