Standard Lemma guide

misanthropy

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /mɪˈsæn.θɹə.pi/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A negative view or hatred of the human race.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • 1817, Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Revolt of Islam, Author's Preface Hence gloom and misanthropy have become the characteristics of the age in which we live, the solace of a disappointment that unconsciously finds relief only in the wilful exaggeration of its own despair.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a disposition to dislike and mistrust other people

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: unfriendliness

3

noun

Meaning 3

hatred of mankind

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: hate, hatred

History

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μισανθρωπία (misanthrōpía), from μισάνθρωπος (misánthrōpos), from μῖσος (mîsos, “hatred”) + ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “human”). The word is analysable as miso- + -anthropy.

Across languages

Translations

70 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: mizantropi — negative view of people or mankind
  • Arabic: بُغْض الْبَشَرِيَّة (buḡḍ al-bašariyya) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Armenian: միզանտրոպիա (mizantropia) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Armenian: մարդատյացություն (mardatyacʻutʻyun) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Asturian: misantropía — negative view of people or mankind
  • Basque: misantropia — negative view of people or mankind
  • Belarusian: чалавеканенаві́сніцтва (čalavjekanjenavísnictva) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Belarusian: мізантро́пія (mizantrópija) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Bulgarian: мизантро́пия (mizantrópija) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Bulgarian: човеконена́вистничество (čovekonenávistničestvo) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Bulgarian: човекомра́зие (čovekomrázie) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Catalan: misantropia — negative view of people or mankind
  • Czech: misantropie — negative view of people or mankind
  • Danish: misantropi — negative view of people or mankind
  • Dutch: misantropie — negative view of people or mankind
  • Dutch: mensenhaat — negative view of people or mankind
  • Esperanto: mizantropio — negative view of people or mankind
  • Estonian: misantroopia — negative view of people or mankind
  • Finnish: misantropia — negative view of people or mankind
  • Finnish: ihmisviha — negative view of people or mankind
  • French: misanthropie — negative view of people or mankind
  • Galician: misantropía — negative view of people or mankind
  • Georgian: კაცთმოძულეობა (ḳactmoʒuleoba) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Georgian: მიზანთროპია (mizantroṗia) — negative view of people or mankind
  • German: Menschenhass — negative view of people or mankind
  • German: Menschenfeindlichkeit — negative view of people or mankind
  • German: Misanthropie — negative view of people or mankind
  • Greek: μισανθρωπία (misanthropía) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Ancient Greek: μισανθρωπία (misanthrōpía) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Hawaiian: hoʻokae kanaka — negative view of people or mankind
  • Hebrew: מִיזַנְתְּרוֹפְּיָה (mizantrópya) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Hebrew: שִׂנְאַת אָדָם (sin'át adám) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Hebrew: שִׂנְאַת הַבְּרִיּוֹת (sin'át habriyót) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Hungarian: embergyűlölet — negative view of people or mankind
  • Ido: mizantropeso — negative view of people or mankind
  • Irish: míchaidreamhacht — negative view of people or mankind
  • Italian: misantropia — negative view of people or mankind
  • Japanese: 人間不信 (ningen fushin) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Latin: misanthropia — negative view of people or mankind
  • Latvian: mizantropija — negative view of people or mankind
  • Lithuanian: mizantropija — negative view of people or mankind
  • Macedonian: човекомра́зие (čovekomrázie) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Macedonian: мизантро́пија (mizantrópija) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Mingrelian: მიზანთროპი (mizantroṗi) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Norwegian Bokmål: misantropi — negative view of people or mankind
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: misantropi — negative view of people or mankind
  • Occitan: misantropia — negative view of people or mankind
  • Persian: مردمستیزی (mardom-setizi) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Polish: mizantropia — negative view of people or mankind
  • Portuguese: misantropia — negative view of people or mankind
  • Romanian: mizantropie — negative view of people or mankind
  • Russian: человеконенави́стничество (čelovekonenavístničestvo) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Russian: мизантро́пия (mizantrópija) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Samogitian: mėzantruopėjė — negative view of people or mankind
  • Serbo-Croatian: мизантро̀пија — negative view of people or mankind
  • Serbo-Croatian: човекомр́ство — negative view of people or mankind
  • Serbo-Croatian: човјекомр́ство — negative view of people or mankind
  • Serbo-Croatian: mizantròpija — negative view of people or mankind
  • Serbo-Croatian: čovekomŕstvo — negative view of people or mankind
  • Serbo-Croatian: čovjekomŕstvo — negative view of people or mankind
  • Slovak: mizantropia — negative view of people or mankind
  • Slovene: mizantropíja — negative view of people or mankind
  • Slovene: ljudomrzništvo — negative view of people or mankind
  • Spanish: misantropía — negative view of people or mankind
  • Swedish: misantropi — negative view of people or mankind
  • Turkish: mizantropi — negative view of people or mankind
  • Ukrainian: людиноненави́сництво (ljudynonenavýsnyctvo) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Ukrainian: мізантро́пія (mizantrópija) — negative view of people or mankind
  • Uzbek: odamsevmaslik — negative view of people or mankind
  • Yiddish: מיזאַנטראָפּיע (mizantropye) — negative view of people or mankind
Real reading context

misanthropy in complete knowledge articles