as in cruel
feeling or showing a desire to cause harm or pain
a mean-spirited person He wrote a mean-spirited book review.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mean-spirited
While most are supportive, a fair number are critical, even mean-spirited.
—
Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 16 June 2023
Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 16 June 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mean-spirited
Adjective
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What is a totalitarian leader other than an individualist taking that creed to its cruel conclusions, erasing the uniqueness of every other person into mere characters in a drama?—
Ed Simon
June 23,
Literary Hub,
23 June 2025
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That first leg ended 1-0 — a slim aggregate lead — and in the second leg back on Kiwi soil, the Australians won 2-0 with one of their goals a cruel deflection.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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This approach costs three times more than housing people and creates a vicious cycle — incarceration increases homelessness risk by destroying community connections and employment prospects.—
Mahdi E Diab,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 June 2025
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Of course, no conversation about Yellowjackets season 3 would be complete without a deep dive into Shauna's vicious throw down with Swank's Melissa — during which Shauna rips a chunk of flesh off Melissa's arm with her teeth and forces her to eat it.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
19 June 2025
Adjective
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Wilcox’s attorney, Bryant Scriven, told the Orlando Sentinel his client was a disabled military veteran who is neither a violent nor a hateful person.—
Silas Morgan,
The Orlando Sentinel,
18 June 2025
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This hateful message emboldened the audience to boo when graduates in Jewish Studies and Hebrew were called to the stage.—
Isabella Brannon,
FOXNews.com,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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This time, Boyle and Garland have a sharper, nastier provocation in mind.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
25 June 2025
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Again there are two levels here, and each radically altered the color profile of the onscreen visuals – with the high setting giving everything a nasty green hue.—
Paul Ridden
June 25,
New Atlas,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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Steve’s first instinct is almost always to say something awful or unkind, and then Murray’s eyes flash a desire to take it back.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
12 June 2025
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Midterm elections have historically been unkind to the sitting president's political party, and Republicans have been sprinting to get their tax cut bill through quick enough to improve their political fortunes.—
Francesca Chambers,
USA Today,
10 June 2025
Adjective
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Hartley plays Lenny’s girlfriend, June, while Brook plays an obnoxious podcaster named Ratty.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
15 June 2025
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Of course, her obnoxious boyfriend, Harris (Josh Macqueen), whose family owns most of the real estate in town, isn’t exactly pleased with Zac’s presence.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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In the book, Benedict falls for Sophie Beckett, the daughter of an earl who’s been hidden away from the Ton and forced to work as a housemaid by her spiteful stepmother.—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
14 Feb. 2025
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But what does our contemporary obsession — both spiteful and fawning — with Brutalism say about our wants and needs as a society at this moment?—
Anna Kodé,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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That’s fine by an administration that seems basically contemptuous of the very concept of due process.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
31 May 2025
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Think of the public dissection of and collective sneer toward pop darlings suffering mental health crises, like Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan, or the contemptuous treatment of Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential run.—
Maya Salam,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mean-spirited.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mean-spirited. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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