ill-naturedly

Definition of ill-naturedlynext

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-naturedly
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
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
Adverb
  • Immigrant rights advocates have criticized the practice as inhumane and say ICE has cruelly targeted people following the rules by turning up to their court dates to meet quotas.
    Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 26 Mar. 2026
  • This year’s ceremony was not perfect, of course — there were some sound-production issues, there were some presenters with milquetoast bits (as always), and a few winners were played off the stage with cruelly abrupt music cues.
    Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2026
Adverb
  • The 24-year-old right-hander made his major league debut as a late replacement for right-hander Ryan Johnson, who fell ill, and had to bob and weave through the early innings.
    Doug Padilla, Oc Register, 6 Apr. 2026
  • Many are either closed-source and rigid, or open-source but ill-suited for local development, slowing efforts to industrialize eco-friendly drone designs, the South China Morning Post reported.
    Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 4 Apr. 2026
Adverb
  • Instead of The Expanse’s sprawling epic of humanity’s journey to the stars, The Captive’s War sees humans brought under the thumb of a ruthlessly controlling alien empire and struggling to resist, build lives and maybe even find a way to win.
    Sarah Lewin Frasier, Scientific American, 10 Apr. 2026
  • The Apollo program was centrally planned and ruthlessly methodical.
    David W. Brown, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
Adverb
  • The fans mercilessly booed Shohei Ohtani, who turned down $700 million from the Blue Jays to take $700 million from the Dodgers, and outfielder Kyle Tucker, who turned down $350 million (over 10 years) from the Blue Jays to take $240 million (over four years) from the Dodgers.
    Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
  • At his previous school, he was mercilessly bullied.
    Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
Adverb
  • Varner described the creatures as diabolically cunning, destructive, and nocturnal.
    Paige Williams, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 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
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
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Ill-naturedly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-naturedly. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.

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