unaffectionate

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unaffectionate But in conversations with his long-suffering wife Louisa and his stern mother Abigail Adams, a less noble side of the man is laid bare: absentee husband, cold, unaffectionate father and inflexible, unlikable politician. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2020 Seward says Diana told her about her ex-husband's unaffectionate childhood with parents Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Simon Perry, PEOPLE.com, 21 Sep. 2020 Kyung, a Korean-American, grew up financially comfortable — surrounded by tutors, music lessons and other markers of success — but in loveless, unaffectionate surroundings. Joumana Khatib, New York Times, 11 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unaffectionate
Adjective
  • Felix, whose childhood is revealed to have been unloving and unstable, seems to see in Jess something like instant security: not just a warm person with a home that’s much more welcoming than his chaotic squat full of eco-warriors, but an insta-family.
    Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 17 July 2025
  • And at its head, always, sits Adele’s husband Caesar (Tommaso Ragno), a stern but not unloving patriarch with the sonorous voice of a man used to being obeyed, who runs the local one-room school where all of his kids, bar his youngest, sickly infant, are taught the same lessons regardless of age.
    Jessica Kiang, Variety, 2 Sep. 2024
Adjective
  • Photo Credit Mario Galluci Schnitzer’s philanthropy defies the stereotype of the aloof collector.
    Stephan Rabimov, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Enid-as-Wednesday struggles to stay cool and aloof.
    Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • But as Beijing hardens its ties with Russia, North Korea and other nations unfriendly to the West, the emergence of two camps and the contest between them appears clearer than ever.
    Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Now, even polls which have been historically unfriendly to Republicans are showing him with a huge lead over any potential opponent.
    Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Reached by phone, the father comes off as a cold, uncaring man, and Pacino portrays him with chilling aloofness.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2025
  • For many years, Tariffs were allowed to be used against us by our uncaring and unwise Politicians.
    Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Many of his supporters responded to his death with messages of grief, but his critics were either indifferent or celebratory.
    Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Institutions that once functioned for the benefit of the public are now sclerotic, having been partly dismantled, or seem indifferent to suffering.
    Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • This is perhaps why the Kremlin seems so uninterested in ending the war.
    Jeremy Shapiro, The Atlantic, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Taylor’s being a drill sergeant, but Belly and Anika are uninterested in going viral.
    Sara Netzley, EW.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Tracey recalls how her ruthless daughter sought revenge on her father, classmates and Laura.
    Erin Jensen, USA Today, 12 Sep. 2025
  • In the epic Emperor Kisra (Kingsley) has a reputation for being utterly ruthless.
    Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The film’s only real villain is Al Pacino, doing a Colonel Sanders accent as Richard’s father M.L. Hall, whose pitiless rigidity stands in for capitalism as a whole.
    Katie Rife, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Each failure rekindled the gravitational pull of an existential, pitiless struggle.
    Hussein Agha, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Unaffectionate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unaffectionate. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!