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
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Recent Examples of uncomplimentary
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
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
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
Cherry was regularly uncomplimentary of how some European players played the game.
—Kevin Allen, USA TODAY, 12 Nov. 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
Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE.com, 21 Jan. 2022
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
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
Cherry was regularly uncomplimentary of how some European players played the game.
—Kevin Allen, USA TODAY, 12 Nov. 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
-
And then, especially in the past several years, friends who stayed say: Honestly, this is kind of insulting—the way people keep talking about Lebanon from afar.—
Sahar Delijani
July 17,
Literary Hub,
17 July 2025
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The deliberate and insulting call-out immediately sent the wrestling world into a frenzy.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 July 2025
Adjective
-
After America voted to pair Brown with the new bombshell, Iris Kendall, Mustafa erupted into a tantrum that involved crying, screaming across the villa and calling Brown derogatory names.—
Giana Levy,
Variety,
17 July 2025
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But fans quickly drew a connection between Ortega's unexpected departure and the calls from viewers for her removal after the discovery of past social media posts that included the use of a derogatory term referencing the Asian community.—
Mekishana Pierre,
EW.com,
16 July 2025
Adjective
-
Attacks are now surging across the U.S., targeting citizens with malicious texts, emails and popups.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
-
Because the malicious screen is transparent, there are no visual cues to suggest anything suspicious is happening.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
21 July 2025
Adjective
-
Living the Values: Nothing is more disparaging for employees than having a leader who demonstrates behaviors that do not align with the organizational values, and no one seems to care.—
Tony Gambill,
Forbes.com,
24 June 2025
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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
-
Trump tried to claim that media reports about his administration’s early conclusions were somehow demeaning attacks on the performance of our military.—
Chris Brennan,
USA Today,
27 June 2025
-
Loss of community trust Trans and nonbinary people have often been studied under opportunistic and demeaning circumstances.—
Paz Galupo,
The Conversation,
2 June 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
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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
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Stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni is insulting because a macaroni was a pejorative term used to describe a fashionable man with feminine traits of 18th-century Britain.—
Kurt Snibbe,
Oc Register,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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By contrast, there’s something almost nakedly contemptuous about the end of this season.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
30 May 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Uncomplimentary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/uncomplimentary. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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