MEAN-SPIRITED Synonyms: 88 Similar and Opposite Words

mean-spirited

adjective

Definition of mean-spirited

as in cruel

feeling or showing a desire to cause harm or pain a mean-spirited person He wrote a mean-spirited book review.

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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.

Recent Examples of mean-spirited While most are supportive, a fair number are critical, even mean-spirited. — Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 16 June 2023

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mean-spirited

Adjective

The heat has become so unbearable in Japan that weather officials in April announced a new term for days when maximum temperatures exceed 104 degrees — kokushobi, meaning harsh or cruel heat, according to the Japan Times.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
For thousands of Venezuelans, however, the lack of definitive answers has become one of the tragedy’s cruelest consequences.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 July 2026

Definition of cruel

Adjective

The early Cold War liberals had read their history books and seen how the French Revolution had begun with high progressive hopes but descended into a vicious bloodbath.

— David Brooks, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
After a similarly vicious storm struck the New York area late Friday, hundreds of thousands of utility customers were left without power, trains to New Jersey were canceled and thousands of trees were damaged or uprooted.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026

Definition of vicious

Adjective

After about a month, when the social media and news backlash started to settle down, Johnson said the hateful comments stopped coming in.

— Elijah Polance, Hartford Courant, 5 July 2026
White attributed most of the hateful comments to online agitators rather than true WNBA or Indiana Fever fans.

— Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026

Definition of hateful

Adjective

The prettiest man in football landed a nasty elbow to Ireland’s Dara O’ Shea and was justifiably handed a red card.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 July 2026
One is the true story of a white, nasty gentleman who had more power than anybody in the United States for longer, and the other is a love story between two gay people at a time when that had to be way, way, way down low.

— K.J. Yossman, Variety, 7 July 2026

Definition of nasty

Adjective

During the first game, the Fever’s Caitlin Clark and the Mercury’s DeWanna Bonner got tangled up, said some unkind things, and five players wound up with technical fouls in the aftermath.

— Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 2 July 2026
The market is now doing what project-finance investors are meant to do, testing the cash flow and asking who is left holding the risk if the day of refinancing is unkind.

— Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026

Definition of unkind

Adjective

And, for all the theater of the hearing and Wyper’s expressions of sympathy with aldermen, the Stonepeak executive didn’t offer any meaningful concessions to make this obnoxious meter deal more palatable for Chicagoans.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2026
The song’s spacious production lets its piercing saxophone riffs dissipate into silence, only for borderline obnoxious horns to swirl them back into rhythm.

— Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 25 June 2026

Definition of obnoxious

Adjective

The man didn’t catch Serena’s contemptuous expression, however, too busy peeling bills from a money clip and pressing them into his date’s hand.

— Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026
The fantasy of transforming a cold or contemptuous man through the sheer force of one’s love has caused real harm, and the critique of it is warranted.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 June 2026

Definition of contemptuous

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“Mean-spirited.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mean-spirited. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of mean-spirited

adjective

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