Timonism

//ˈtaɪmənɪzəm// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A form of bitter misanthropy, a despair leading to hatred or contemptuous rejection of mankind, like Timon of Athens. countable, uncountable

    "This most cruel betrayal led him to Timonism."

  2. 2
    A bitter or cynical utterance or behavior, in the manner of Timon of Athens. countable, uncountable

    "Pay no attention to his Timonisms; it's a pose."

Synonyms

All synonyms
cynicismmisanthropy

Example

More examples

"This most cruel betrayal led him to Timonism."

Etymology

From Timon + -ism, after the 5th-century-BCE person Timon of Athens (as described by Plutarch, Lucian, and Aristophanes), possibly by way of William Shakespeare's play Timon of Athens (c. 1607). Used in the Westminster Review (maybe after the earlier Timonist) in an 1840 review. Erroneously attributed to Herman Melville, who popularized it later in 1852.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.