UNFAIRLY Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

unfairly

adverb

Definition of unfairly

as in cruelly

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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 unfairly Cramer said the stocks have been unfairly lumped together despite having vastly different businesses and AI strategies. — Alexa Lomonaco, CNBC, 9 July 2026 Hoarding, often unfairly criticized by minimalists and closet organizers everywhere, is the art of keeping things that are useful, meaningful or may be surprisingly important some day. — Shivali H. Patra, Mercury News, 8 July 2026 The court also allowed claims that the company unfairly benefited by skimping on security, may have violated North Carolina’s unfair-trade law, and could be ordered to clarify and improve its ongoing data-security duties. — Chase Jordan july 7, Charlotte Observer, 7 July 2026 Those small moments, when a daughter is left out, overlooked, or treated unfairly, can change how a father sees the world. — Alex Shoemaker, Parents, 5 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for unfairly

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfairly

Adverb

Hope was dangled like a carrot, then cruelly snatched away, more than once.

— Marissa Stapley, PEOPLE, 7 July 2026
Colombia peppered him with shots from all parts of the attacking third, as seen below, and had three goals disallowed before Daniel Munoz’s deflected strike — cruelly — finally beat Mpasi on 76 minutes.

— Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 7 July 2026

Definition of cruelly

Adverb

Smashed with the instep of Mbappe’s right foot, the ball arced viciously into the top-right corner, beyond Bounou’s despairing dive.

— Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 9 July 2026
At the end of a two-week trial, the verdict went strongly in favor of Maria Avila, who was viciously attacked by Hades, a 200-pound Caucasian shepherd owned by Brown, while emptying trash outside the singer’s Tarzana, California house.

— Chris Willman, Variety, 1 July 2026

Definition of viciously

Adverb

Victim Nyron Shaw’s father said the driver who mowed his son down last year in Ocean Hill a day before Independence Day should face the maximum penalty for allegedly driving twice the speed limit and heartlessly taking off, leaving his son to die.

— Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 8 Apr. 2026
In the process, Joel heartlessly killed some innocent people, including medical professionals.

— EW.com, EW.com, 26 Aug. 2025

Definition of heartlessly

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unfair

unfairly

unfairness

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“Unfairly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfairly. Accessed 15 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of unfairly

adverb

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