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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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
-
Politics remains a cruel business and the governor has been on the frontline of it for nearly 20 years, winning and losing.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
5 July 2025
-
They were joined by actors playing the contestants, who lurched along wearing expressions of exaggerated horror, as though the cruel stakes of the game had just been revealed to them.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 July 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
-
Our national broadcaster should not be transmitting hateful material designed to incite violence and conflict.—
Fatima Al-Kassab,
NPR,
30 June 2025
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Instead, the program selectively promoted one viewpoint while silencing others, effectively teaching children that religious beliefs about sexuality and gender are outdated or even hateful.—
Jeffrey S. Trimbath,
Baltimore Sun,
29 June 2025
Adjective
-
This time, Boyle and Garland have a sharper, nastier provocation in mind.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
25 June 2025
-
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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Gorgeous archival interview clips with the young Stephanie Mills, Broadway’s original Dorothy in The Wiz, underline the gulf between audiences’ love for her and the unkind barbs of critics at the time.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
11 June 2025
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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
Adjective
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Duncan’s crew includes obnoxious head of security Bobby Atwater (Ed Skrein), Haitian co-pilot LeClerc (Bechir Sylvain) and deckhand Nina (Philippine Velge).—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
30 June 2025
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With the help of the chemical solanine, tomatoes deter obnoxious asparagus beetles, which, can do harm to asparagus plants.—
Steve Bender,
Southern Living,
29 June 2025
Adjective
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But to unsuspecting humans, killer bees seem aggressive, spiteful and, of course, terrifying.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
24 June 2025
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But there’s a qualitative difference with a spiteful, foul-mouthed, score-settling president leading by acrid example.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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By contrast, there’s something almost nakedly contemptuous about the end of this season.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
30 May 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Mean-spirited.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mean-spirited. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
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