kind

noun

\ˈkīnd

Definition of kind

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a group united by common traits or interests : category

b : a specific or recognized variety what kind of car do you drive

c : a doubtful or barely admissible member of a category a kind of gray

2 : fundamental nature or quality : essence a difference in degree but not in kind

3a : goods or commodities as distinguished from money payment in kind

b : the equivalent of what has been offered or received promised to return the favor in kind

4a archaic : nature

b archaic : family, lineage

5 archaic : manner

all kinds of

1 : many likes all kinds of sports

2 : plenty of has all kinds of time

kind

adjective

Definition of kind (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : of a sympathetic or helpful nature was helped by a kind neighbor They were very kind to us.

b : of a forbearing nature : gentle kind treatment of animals

c : arising from or characterized by sympathy or forbearance a kind act a kind smile

2 : of a kind to give pleasure or relief cooled by a kind breeze

3 chiefly dialectal : affectionate, loving

Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about kind

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Choose the Right Synonym for kind

Noun

type, kind, sort, nature, description, character mean a number of individuals thought of as a group because of a common quality or qualities. type may suggest strong and clearly marked similarity throughout the items included so that each is typical of the group. one of three basic body types kind may suggest natural grouping. a zoo seemingly having animals of every kind sort often suggests some disparagement. the sort of newspaper dealing in sensational stories nature may imply inherent, essential resemblance rather than obvious or superficial likenesses. two problems of a similar nature description implies a group marked by agreement in all details belonging to a type as described or defined. not all acts of that description are actually illegal character implies a group marked by distinctive likenesses peculiar to the type. research on the subject so far has been of an elementary character

Examples of kind in a Sentence

Noun

hawks and other birds of that kind In this city, you'll find many kinds of people. I like to try different kinds of food. She described the color as a kind of red. I think he's an accountant, financial adviser, or something of that kind.

Adjective

A kind old woman took the cat in and nursed it back to health. It was very kind of you to show me the way. Thank you for your kind words.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The first restriction of any kind came in 1808, when the federal government outlawed the slave trade. — John Steele Gordon, WSJ, "A Short History of American Immigration," 20 Nov. 2018 But one day of January this year, each of Meghan’s social media platforms were deleted without warning and all signs of her online presence of any kind suddenly disappeared. — Lucy Wood, Marie Claire, "Meghan Markle Says Giving Up Social Media For Her Royal Role Was "Very Freeing"," 19 Oct. 2018 Once Facebook went down, internet users went directly to news websites or searched for news of any kind, including entertainment and sports through Google or other search engines to replace their Facebook browsing fix. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Recode Daily: Is the podcast bubble bursting?," 24 Sep. 2018 Extensions, wigs, hair pieces of any kind are not allowed. — Amira Rasool, Allure, "A Black Student’s Elementary School Reportedly Sent Her Home for Wearing Box Braids," 22 Aug. 2018 The Service and the information contained therein may not be used to construct a database of any kind. — Bloomberg, "Terms of Service," 8 July 2018 Always attentive to those in need of any kind, Sister Ann initiated an outreach parish hospitality ministry. — courant.com, "Ann Sabol," 6 July 2018 The nuclear plant is the largest power producer of any kind in the country. — Richard Ruelas, azcentral, "Clean energy, taxes and anti-dirty money proposals submitted for November ballot," 5 July 2018 Parking and shuttles No recreational vehicles of any kind are permitted in any parking locations without written permission from the parking lot business owner. — Jennie Key, Cincinnati.com, "Red, White and Blue Ash: What you need to know before you go," 3 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Richard Avedon is much too kind to himself; the 1978 dye transfer print smacks of advertisement. — William Meyers, WSJ, "‘Eye to I: Self-Portraits From 1900 to Today’ Review: How Artists See Themselves," 19 Nov. 2018 Hopefully Joey’s experience will teach others to be kinder — and raise some important awareness about facts. — De Elizabeth, Teen Vogue, "Joey King Says an Airplane Passenger Thought She Had Cancer Because of Her Shaved Head," 18 Nov. 2018 Like, Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop was not kind to journalism, let’s just say. — Eric Johnson, Recode, "Google’s former PR boss Jessica Powell wrote a satirical novel about tech and published it all on Medium," 2 Oct. 2018 And the Australians helped them celebrate the news, showering the couple with kind words, flowers, and lots of baby gifts. — Elise Taylor, Vogue, "The Most Touching Moments from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Australian Tour," 21 Oct. 2018 Several spoke to the positive, genuinely kind atmosphere these online communities foster. — Natalie Lampert, Marie Claire, "Why Women Reeling From Miscarriage Are Turning to the Web," 1 Oct. 2018 Due to some run-ins with an Illuminati-like organization bent on triggering a worldwide divine renewal, Croft and her kind companion Jonah look towards the jungles of Peru. — Daniel Starkey, Ars Technica, "Shadow of the Tomb Raider review: Fighting for my life and loving it," 10 Sep. 2018 Those who know Jonathan best describe him as energetic and kind. — BostonGlobe.com, "Jonathan and Violette both love playing outside," 14 July 2018 So learning how to deal with mean girls in an empathetic way and not talk back when people talk mean to you and how to empower them to be good girls and kind girls and be sisterly to each other. — Kathy Cichon, chicagotribune.com, "Steel Beam offers empowerment workshop for girls," 13 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'kind.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.