noun

misanthropy

mih-SAN-thruh-pee/mɪˈsænθrəpi/

Hatred or distrust of humankind.

His misanthropy makes him suspect the worst of everyone.

A solitary older white man behind a garden gate turning his back with distrustful scowl as friendly diverse neighbors approach, dislike of humankind.

Etymology

misGreekto hate

+anthropGreekhuman being

+yGreekstate or condition

The Greek components express hatred of humankind. In the selected sense, that attitude can take the form of general distrust: expecting the worst of human character and motives.

In context

CrashCourse16:25

my waywardness, peevishness, irascibility, misanthropy, and murky passions

The Deadliest Infectious Disease of All Time | Crash Course Lecture

More examples

Years of witnessing cruelty deepened her misanthropy.
Preferring solitude is not necessarily a sign of misanthropy.
The novel's narrator expresses his misanthropy through insults aimed at all humanity.

Forms

misanthrope noun — A person who hates or distrusts humankind.

misanthropic adjective — Showing hatred or distrust of humankind.

Similar words

cynicism: Distrust of people's motives, without necessarily feeling hatred toward humankind.