as in insulting
intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value
an uncomplimentary description of the town in which the writer grew up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 uncomplimentary
Neither party admitted to liability and each agreed to refrain from making disparaging, negative or uncomplimentary statements about the other, the document said.
—
Lorraine Mirabella, Baltimore Sun, 29 July 2022
Though the pollen gunk will pass, he's concerned by a contingent of Twitter trolls who've shared uncomplimentary reviews of his recent North American tour.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE.com, 21 Jan. 2022
Reviews from Rolling Stone and The New York Times were similarly uncomplimentary, and were soon pulled from publication following Lennon's murder.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 9 Dec. 2020
The nation’s capital is replete with lawyers, and thus lawyer jokes (most of them uncomplimentary).
—George Weigel, National Review, 2 Dec. 2019
An uncomplimentary set of players under two head coaches with no plan, Spurs stumbled their way to sixth place somehow, despite their best efforts to finish in the bottom half.
—SI.com, 21 Oct. 2019
In this case, the noun brickbat, meaning a hard object like a brick that’s used as a missile or an uncomplimentary remark, gave us the verb brickbat, meaning to launch one of these physical or verbal weapons.
—June Casagrande, Burbank Leader, 10 Oct. 2019
The recent protests have included uncomplimentary references to la junta — the local name for the oversight board.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2019
Lorraine Mirabella, Baltimore Sun, 29 July 2022
Though the pollen gunk will pass, he's concerned by a contingent of Twitter trolls who've shared uncomplimentary reviews of his recent North American tour.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE.com, 21 Jan. 2022
Reviews from Rolling Stone and The New York Times were similarly uncomplimentary, and were soon pulled from publication following Lennon's murder.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 9 Dec. 2020
The nation’s capital is replete with lawyers, and thus lawyer jokes (most of them uncomplimentary).
—George Weigel, National Review, 2 Dec. 2019
An uncomplimentary set of players under two head coaches with no plan, Spurs stumbled their way to sixth place somehow, despite their best efforts to finish in the bottom half.
—SI.com, 21 Oct. 2019
In this case, the noun brickbat, meaning a hard object like a brick that’s used as a missile or an uncomplimentary remark, gave us the verb brickbat, meaning to launch one of these physical or verbal weapons.
—June Casagrande, Burbank Leader, 10 Oct. 2019
The recent protests have included uncomplimentary references to la junta — the local name for the oversight board.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for uncomplimentary
Adjective
-
Using those who serve in uniform as political props is insulting.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Sep. 2025
-
The whole thing feels redundant and borderline insulting.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
If bad blood existed or Devers made a derogatory comment, that’s different.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Kilmar Abrego Garcia's legal team asked a federal judge on Thursday to issue a gag order blocking Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem from making derogatory comments about him in public.—
Sonam Sheth
Anna Commander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
In addition, users will be able to permanently block a user from quote-sharing any of their posts, as a hedge against malicious dunks.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
13 Sep. 2025
-
That means malicious software is getting smarter, faster and harder to detect.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
And there would be lots of soldiers around, either Army or National Guard, and the people who were civilians would be young people, very disparaging about the military.—
Steve Baltin,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 2025
-
The 2023 Economic Report Of The President published in March of 2023 was relatively disparaging of cryptoassets and DLTs.—
Lawrence Wintermeyer,
Forbes,
5 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
For decades, Indigenous leaders and advocates across the state and country have been trying to convince school communities that the use of such mascots and logos are inappropriate, demeaning and harmful.—
Frank Vaisvilas,
jsonline.com,
29 Aug. 2025
-
One detainee who submitted an account to the court that was referenced by Gregorio described sleeping in foul-smelling facilities and facing demeaning treatment by ICE agents.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
This subsided with unusual speed, however, as cricket fans took instead to sharing the self-deprecatory jokes coming over the border.—
The Economist,
The Economist,
22 June 2019
-
Philipps has acquired her 1-million-and-growing Instagram followers through her self-deprecatory humor, raw honesty and vulnerability.—
Sonja Haller,
USA TODAY,
11 July 2018
Adjective
-
The intensity of Irish expressions of solidarity in 2024 caused one pro-Israel commentator, Ben Cohen, to coin the term Paddystinian as a derisive epithet to counter the narrative, conflating the pejorative stereotype of the drunken Paddy with Palestine.—
Philip Metres
August 27,
Literary Hub,
27 Aug. 2025
-
In fact, locals use a different (and pejorative) term for the other versions: arroz con cosas, or rice with things.—
Sofia Perez,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
Adjective
-
The wit and wordplay never cease, and there’s much pleasure to be drawn from Colman and Cumberbatch spitting McNamara’s contemptuous dialogue with aplomb.—
Katie Walsh,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Aug. 2025
-
Some of the reviews and the coverage were so contemptuous.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Uncomplimentary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/uncomplimentary. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share