Synonyms of meanness

meanness

noun

as in malice

the desire to cause pain for the satisfaction of doing harm

nothing more than unprovoked meanness drove him to smash the child's toy

Synonyms & Similar Words

• malice
• cruelty
• venom
• hatred
• spite
• hatefulness
• maliciousness
• hostility
• spitefulness
• malevolence
• viciousness
• malignity
• jealousy
• contempt
• bitterness
• nastiness
• disgust
• malignancy
• spleen
• despite
• hate
• malignance
• disdain
• cattiness
• resentment
• animosity
• antagonism
• vindictiveness
• enmity
• rancor
• abusiveness
• abhorrence
• loathing
• mean-spiritedness
• distaste
• antipathy
• jaundice
• revulsion
• abomination
• repugnance
• horror
• repulsion
• grudge
• vengefulness
• ill will
• scorn
• execration
• invidiousness
• bitchiness
• bile
• virulence
• aversion
• vitriol
• bitchery
• pique
• despicableness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• love
• devotion
• passion
• civility
• friendliness
• cordiality
• amiability
• hospitality
• amity
• kindness
• worship
• infatuation
• ardor
• affection
• veneration
• adoration
• understanding
• kindliness
• sympathy
• friendship
• charity
• amicability
• empathy
• goodwill
• comity

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of meanness

Sometimes the irony turns bitter and, with a typically Eastern European sensibility, highlights the paradoxes of institutions, as well as the madness and meanness born from the pursuit and preservation of power. — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 8 June 2026

After 1965, when African Americans’ right to vote was constitutionally recognized, the meanness continued. — Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 May 2026

The collective community is more important than the individual, and care trumps meanness. — Sarah Wang, PEOPLE, 16 May 2026

Trump’s petulance, meanness, and willingness to punish a religious institution for its Church’s moral witness is a warning to every faith community in America. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 19 Apr. 2026

Would there be perpetual meanness and the absence of kindness toward each other as human beings? — Kevin Powell, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026

The result is a movie where the jokes are just mean, and the meanness isn’t funny, leading to a cynical denouement that’s been done many times before. — Katie Rife, IndieWire, 16 Mar. 2026

Scott inflicts Ohm’s nonchalant meanness with a piercingly perverse matter-of-factness that places the character as far away as possible from the realm of likeability. — Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 15 Mar. 2026

There is still some of that here, but a lot of Martin’s light-touch meanness is drowned out by his insistence on describing his characters within the context of early COVID — pulling out those masks from the closet. — Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026