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
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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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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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But here’s the hard truth: the First Amendment protects vile, hateful speech, not just popular opinions.—
Bob Shaw,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 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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Perhaps not helping so much: The set’s early reviews, which have been mostly fairly nasty in their dismissals of the set.—
Andrew Unterberger,
Billboard,
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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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 6 Jul. 2025.
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