First Known Use: 1683
Dictionary
misanthrope
noun mis·an·thrope \ˈmi-sən-ˌthrōp\
: a person who does not like other people
Full Definition of MISANTHROPE
: a person who hates or distrusts humankind
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Examples of MISANTHROPE
- Many members of the contemporary movie audience, only marginally socialized, would have made a misanthrope of Gandhi; they undermine every argument for intelligent design in the universe. —James Morris, Wilson Quarterly, Autumn 2005
- It is perhaps not the healthiest tendency for a man who is already if not a hermit at least a part-time misanthrope. —Edmund White, Vanity Fair, September 1996
- 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
- The young people thought him a gloomy misanthrope, because he never joined in their sports—the old men thought still more hardly of him, because he followed no trade, … —Washington Irving, [Salmagundi November 24, 1807], in History, Tales, and Sketches, 1977
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Origin of MISANTHROPE
Greek misanthrōpos hating humankind, from misein to hate + anthrōpos human being
Other Psychology Terms
Rhymes with MISANTHROPE
antelope, antipope, arthroscope, biotope, bronchoscope, bunny slope, calliope, cryoscope, endoscope, envelope, episcope, epitope, fluoroscope, forlorn hope, gastroscope, gyroscope, horoscope, interlope, isotope, kinescope, microscope, periscope, phalarope, radarscope, slippery slope, sniperscope, spectroscope, telescope
Medical Dictionary
misanthrope
noun mis·an·thrope \ˈmis-ən-ˌthrōp\
Medical Definition of MISANTHROPE
: a person who hates or distrusts humankind
Learn More About MISANTHROPE
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