Misanthrope

WORD OF THE DAY

misanthrope / noun / MISS-un-throhp

Definition
: a person who hates or distrusts humankind

Examples
“Scholars writing in 2015 found that, even after correcting for gender, education, and age, the least cynical people saw an average monthly increase in income of about $300 over nine years. The most cynical saw no significant income increase at all. The authors explain this pattern by noting that cynics ‘are more likely to forgo valuable opportunities for cooperation and consequently less likely to reap the benefits of joint efforts and mutual help.’ In other words, being a misanthrope is costly.”
— Arthur C. Brooks, The Atlantic, 20 Jan. 2022

Rather she is the genuine article, a misanthrope so pure she can't understand "why solitary confinement is considered punishment."
—Lewis Burke Frumkes, New York Times Book Review, 10 May 1992

Did You Know?
The essence of misanthrope might be understood in modern parlance as “haters gonna hate.”
Adopted in the early 17th century from Greek misanthrōpos, “hating humankind,” (from misein, “to hate,” and anthrōpos, “human being”) its use was encouraged by French playwright Molière’s 1666 satiric comedy Le Misanthrope, which depicts a bitter critic of society who chooses exile over contact with other people.
Misanthrope has a close relation in misanthropy, “a hatred or distrust of humankind,” which in turn has an opposite that, happily, is more common than either: philanthropy most often refers to the practice of giving time and money to help others; its Greek root means “loving humankind.”
Philanthropes also exist, though they’re usually referred to as philanthropists.