Synonyms of kindly

kindly 1 of 2

adjective

ˈkīn(d)-lē 

1

as in kind

having or marked by sympathy and consideration for others

brought homemade chicken soup out of kindly concern for my health

Synonyms & Similar Words

• kind
• compassionate
• benevolent
• sympathetic
• thoughtful
• gracious
• gentle
• nice
• humane
• friendly
• generous
• kindhearted
• benignant
• merciful
• sweet
• beneficent
• good
• pleasant
• tender
• warmhearted
• good-hearted
• attentive
• considerate
• patient
• softhearted
• solicitous
• tenderhearted
• warm
• humanitarian
• cordial
• good-natured
• benign
• mild
• pitying
• affable
• genial
• forbearing
• soft
• lenient
• neighborly
• charitable
• magnanimous
• companionable
• amicable
• noble
• forgiving
• comradely
• tolerant
• good-tempered
• munificent
• liberal
• understanding
• unselfish
• altruistic
• selfless
• philanthropic
• brotherly
• unsparing
• clement
• openhearted
• greathearted
• freehanded
• anticruelty
• cruelty-free

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cruel
• unkind
• callous
• savage
• brutal
• vicious
• unsympathetic
• brute
• heartless
• inhuman
• sadistic
• barbarous
• atrocious
• truculent
• unfeeling
• barbaric
• ruthless
• brutish
• inhumane
• bestial
• unkindly
• fiendish
• merciless
• pitiless
• insensate
• insensitive
• thoughtless
• severe
• stern
• inconsiderate
• harsh
• tough
• uncaring
• unthinking
• hard-hearted
• wanton
• grim
• uncompassionate
• cold-blooded
• mean
• malignant
• malicious
• unsentimental
• hateful
• malevolent
• spiteful
• ironhearted
• virulent
• malign
• nasty
• stonyhearted
• uncharitable
• heavy-handed
• hard-boiled
• antihumanitarian

2

as in helpful

promoting or contributing to personal or social well-being

a vegetarian diet can be very kindly to a person hoping to lose a few pounds

Synonyms & Similar Words

• helpful
• beneficial
• favorable
• good
• friendly
• satisfying
• profitable
• advantageous
• beneficent
• salutary
• benignant
• desirable
• promising
• gratifying
• benefic
• rewarding
• lucrative
• advisable
• supportive
• propitious
• healthy
• auspicious
• wholesome
• constructive
• healthful
• gainful
• salubrious
• remunerative
• salutiferous
• ameliorative
• amelioratory
• bettering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• bad
• unfriendly
• unfavorable
• unhelpful
• disadvantageous
• unprofitable
• harmful
• injurious
• damaging
• deleterious
• insalubrious

kindly

2 of 2

adverb

1

as in nicely

with good reason or courtesy

would you kindly hand me the scissors?

Synonyms & Similar Words

• nicely
• thoughtfully
• reasonably
• graciously
• politely
• courteously
• considerately
• well
• fairly
• pleasantly
• respectfully
• justifiably
• wisely
• sensibly
• discreetly
• validly
• prudently
• solicitously
• deferentially
• sweetly
• judiciously
• chivalrously
• sympathetically
• gallantly
• compassionately
• excusably
• decorously
• humanely
• kindheartedly

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rudely
• thoughtlessly
• contemptuously
• scornfully
• disdainfully
• cruelly
• inconsiderately
• disrespectfully
• viciously
• discourteously
• unfairly
• heartlessly
• nastily
• impolitely
• snootily
• shabbily

2

as in pretty

chiefly Southern to some degree or extent

their visit was kindly a surprise

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pretty
• quite
• rather
• enough
• relatively
• fairly
• something
• somewhat
• moderately
• a little
• a mite
• to a degree
• a bit
• sort of
• kind of
• of sorts
• like
• slightly
• after a sort
• a tad
• a touch
• more or less
• decently
• vaguely
• acceptably
• tolerably
• partially
• passably
• partly
• nominally
• little
• negligibly
• incompletely
• halfway
• partway
• part
• half

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• very
• highly
• extremely
• greatly
• heavily
• particularly
• especially
• exceedingly
• exceptionally
• terribly
• awfully
• deadly
• significantly
• substantially
• considerably
• frightfully
• hugely
• extensively
• mortally
• mightily
• surpassingly
• beastly

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of kindly

Adjective

The show sends Pride & Prejudice‘s resident frump (a charming Ella Bruccoleri) on a journey of self-discovery filled with kindly relatives, enormous books, lavish balls and, yes, eligible suitors. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2026

Joe Negri, a jazz guitarist best known to generations of children and their parents as the kindly, music-loving handyman of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, died Saturday, May 30, at a senior living facility outside Pittsburgh. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 12 June 2026

Adverb

Speak plainly, edit kindly, and let useful precision build trust without turning everything into a critique. — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 25 Aug. 2026

Ask about the fee, set a payment structure, and clarify the boundary kindly. — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026

Phrases Containing kindly

• take kindly to