unloving

adjective

un·​lov·​ing ˌən-ˈlə-viŋ How to pronounce unloving (audio)
: not loving or affectionate
an unloving spouse
unlovingly adverb
unlovingness noun

Examples of unloving in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
And at its head, always, sits Adele’s husband Caesar (Tommaso Ragno), a stern but not unloving patriarch with the sonorous voice of a man used to being obeyed, who runs the local one-room school where all of his kids, bar his youngest, sickly infant, are taught the same lessons regardless of age. Jessica Kiang, Variety, 2 Sep. 2024 Money notwithstanding, another possible explanation for the Fletcher kids’ unhappiness as adults is that their parents were simply bad parents, distant and unloving. Adelle Waldman, The Atlantic, 9 July 2024 Pushed out by an unloving foster family, our heroine bounces from one unhappy situation to another, blithely rising above a string of temporary jobs, unreliable boyfriends, and a stint of streetwalking. Danny Horn, EW.com, 7 Mar. 2024 Or that his fear of letting go can be traced to various traumas involving his unloving family and his loving but dead wife? Sara Holdren, Vulture, 2 Nov. 2023 Strays tells the story of Reggie (voiced by Will Ferrell), an adorable terrier abandoned by his unloving owner. Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 18 Aug. 2023 The season also has Sam’s father (played by Mike Hagerty, who died before filming) away on a boating trip with his brother, and Sam’s unloving, unhappy mother in a nursing home. Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, 11 May 2023 Daisy grows up in Los Angeles feeling hopelessly alone in the home of her wealthy but unloving parents, and as an adult is used by men, with only closeted disco singer Simone (Nabiyah Be) seeing her as a person. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 1 Mar. 2023 All this is just dirty talk to me, exotic entertainments for the unloved and unloving. Katherine Dunn, The New Yorker, 4 May 2020

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unloving was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near unloving

Cite this Entry

“Unloving.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unloving. Accessed 6 Dec. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on unloving

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!