ill-naturedly

adverb

as in ungraciously

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-naturedly
  1. insensitively
  2. unkindly
  3. cruelly
  4. ill
  5. ruthlessly
  6. mercilessly
  7. diabolically
  8. pitilessly
Adverb
  • Residents were treated carelessly, disrespectfully, insensitively.
    — Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2026
  • In this volatile environment, comments that appear to minimize or frame the shooting insensitively—like Matt Gutman's—can quickly become career-ending.
    — Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
Definition of insensitively
Adverb
  • Yet, since the post went up, some people have unkindly critiqued her cheeks, nose, chin and complexion, while others wonder what the fuss is all about.
    — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Tabloids and magazines regularly reported on the state of the relationship, often unkindly.
    — Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2026
Definition of unkindly
Adverb
  • The practice was criticized by advocates and others as cruelly targeting rule followers as low-hanging fruit to meet quotas.
    — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 20 July 2026
  • In the movie, Calypso is portrayed less cruelly, and is depicted as being in love with Odysseus.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 18 July 2026
Definition of cruelly
Adverb
  • As pathologists themselves fell ill or took time away to quarantine, already thin ranks were stretched even further.
    — Gregory McDonald, STAT, 13 July 2026
  • After Buzzy’s pet guardian fell ill, the 14-year-old female cat needs a quiet, soft place to land.
    — Our Companions, Hartford Courant, 11 July 2026
Definition of ill
Adverb
  • That pointed straight at a spillage from substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens in the 88th minute, punished ruthlessly by Merino for the decisive goal.
    — Oliver Kay, New York Times, 15 July 2026
  • But when the swirl of events beyond their control caught them into something immeasurably larger than a single game of soccer, not even the strength of their new mentality was enough to prevent them from being ruthlessly swept away.
    — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 7 July 2026
Definition of ruthlessly
Adverb
  • For the second year in a row, this quiet Hill Country town is digging itself out of a catastrophe that has mercilessly taken a community trying to heal and set them back on the path of mourning.
    — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
  • An ensuing mob of fans trying to take the stadium shuttle to the Netherlands-Tunisia match got mercilessly down poured on.
    — Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 14 July 2026
Definition of mercilessly
Adverb
  • Dumpings can happen by elimination, by public vote—every week or so, viewers can choose their favorite islanders or pick who a new bombshell should pair up with—or, more diabolically, by the other islanders’ selection.
    — Lillian Fishman, New Yorker, 27 June 2026
  • That’s par for the course in a facility where all of the nurses are angels (Fisayo Akinade’s diabolically endearing Nurse Angel in particular), and nobody else seems to be sick.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 11 Dec. 2025
Definition of diabolically
Adverb
  • The first hour, set at a resort that’s like a singles cruise through the Twilight Zone (or Bachelor in Paradise beamed in from a brutal alternate universe), contains some of the most pitilessly funny scenes of the filmmaker’s career.
    — A.A. Dowd, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Definition of pitilessly
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.

Browse Nearby Words

ill-natured
ill-naturedly
illness
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Cite this Entry

“Ill-naturedly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-naturedly. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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