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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for meanness
Noun
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But on Wednesday, the jury in the latest trial found that MGA had not acted with malice, meaning no punitive damages would be awarded.
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The company’s own investigation points less to malice than to a process that never engaged.
Noun
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According to the Sheriff’s Office, a judge released Cruz on his own recognizance June 4 following his arraignment on felony animal cruelty charges in Sacramento Superior Court.
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At one point, the narrator, embarrassed by his own act of cruelty, gives a sobbing woman all his money and then leaves her alone in a hotel room.
Noun
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Public Luxury is less a dissertation on those tenets than an emotional response to the struggle to achieve it—mouths dripping with venom, eyes swollen with tears, hearts heavy with love.
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One common misconception is that lionfish are inedible because of their venom.
Noun
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Disciples of this extremist hatred are running for office and winning in select primaries.
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But to the man himself, comedy is—like life—first and foremost about hatred of death.
Cite this Entry
“Meanness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/meanness. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.
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