as in unloving
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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
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
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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
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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
-
Ambrose described Epstein as mysterious and aloof.—
Ava Berger,
NPR,
19 Feb. 2026
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At least there’s Huppert in gloriously aloof form, plus the overripe lusciousness of Martin Gschlacht’s cinematography; with an edible and/or a cocktail or three, that might be enough.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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And the narrative around this state — high-tax, highly regulated, unfriendly to business — badly needs changing.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Feb. 2026
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Large numbers of citizens have come to perceive the institutions of democracy as unfriendly to them.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
21 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In any lesser performance, that character could’ve hardened into a villainous fairy-tale creature, the uncaring mother who has abandoned her child for the sake of her own unnatural career ambitions.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
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And you’ll be known in history as the Christmas Miracle, five fragile lives tossed on the treacherous, uncaring currents of history, and the sea.—
Gawon Bae,
CNN Money,
25 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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With tears and fragments of personal narratives, this footage often digs deeper than some might expect for a sport derided as the domain of adrenaline junkies indifferent to the law.—
Maya Silver,
Outside,
25 Feb. 2026
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Fighting for the women’s game’s growth, though, brings additional emotional labour, and there is a psychological toll from always demanding more from indifferent stakeholders.—
Katie Whyatt,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Soon her two boys, Noah and Nico, found her – unsure about the commotion and clearly uninterested in the magnitude of the moment.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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His latest move from Los Angeles to Cleveland might have been his most pleasant divorce, which came partly because the Clippers were uninterested in guaranteeing his contract for next season.—
Jason Lloyd,
New York Times,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Amongst the sandy plains of the Burning Springs region and throngs of raiders and ruthless cap collectors is Prime Video’s Fallout character, The Ghoul (Walton Goggins).—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
26 Feb. 2026
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That’s thanks in one part to a gripping flash-forward narrative structure now so common it could be considered a cliché, and in another to Glenn Close’s indelible performance as ruthless litigator Patty Hewes.—
Matt Brennan,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Biel is a pitiless cokehead who, we’re told, later marries a senator and has four kids.—
Ky Henderson,
Rolling Stone,
15 Feb. 2026
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In his experiences and chronicles of the great ideological battles of the twentieth century, Curzio Malaparte was a shape-shifter—pitiless, clinical, cynical, unsentimental, indifferent to morality and idealism.—
Leah Downey,
The New York Review of Books,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unaffectionate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unaffectionate. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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