Nihilism Vs Cynicism

Today, a cynic is someone who looks down on society and sees it as fake, because the cynic sees the people who make up society as fake. He believes that morality is a mere pretense and people act on their own self-interest even when they seem to be helping other people. 

Cynicism, like pessimism, is about negativity. While pessimism is about despair, cynicism is about disdain. Cynics are not nihilists because cynics embrace rather than evade mendacity.