unkindly 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of unkindlynext
as in unkind

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

unkindly

2 of 2

adverb

as in cruelly

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

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 unkindly
Adjective
The first time, her 6-year-old child was close to harming our infant daughter, and my husband asked him to back off — not unkindly, and only after giving the neighbor a chance to intercede first. — Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
Adverb
Furet had earlier co-produced a glossy two-volume study of the Revolution, La Révolution française (1965–66), described unkindly but not unjustly by Lynn Hunt as a coffee-table book. — Literary Hub, 19 Nov. 2025 Aimee Lou Wood, the British breakout star of The White Lotus season three, said Saturday Night Live has apologized after unkindly parodying her during Saturday night’s show. — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 13 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for unkindly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unkindly
  1. unkind
  2. cruelly
  3. contemptuous
  4. pitilessly
  5. scornful
  6. ruthlessly
  7. disparaging
  8. mercilessly
Adjective
  • That’s a rare result for nonfiction in a theatrical market that has been unkind to documentaries, and the film is only beginning to roll out internationally.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 10 Nov. 2026
  • There's nothing that the kind and tolerant left loves more than being unkind and intolerant towards people who have a different political perspective.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of unkind
Adverb
  • No matter how cruelly politicians and pundits discuss them, and no matter how desensitized the American people become by this rhetoric, immigrant kids are still kids.
    — Hannah Harshe, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2026
  • And, if Barisone was psychotically deluded, how was the jury meant to understand the defense’s central framing, which was that Kanarek had cruelly tried to harm Barisone?
    — Ian Parker, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of cruelly
Adjective
  • There’s no sense of effort or craft behind the music itself, and the duo’s latest attempts at iconoclasm feel sneeringly contemptuous.
    — Andrew Ryce, Pitchfork, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Yet the two plots remain separate and contemptuous of each other, with no denouement in sight.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of contemptuous
Adverb
  • The season finale brings the various strands of the story together elegantly and a bit pitilessly, too, as the body count continues to rise and the struggle for survival grows genuinely desperate.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of pitilessly
Adjective
  • Atletico did not believe Madrid were actually serious with their bid, and reacted with more angry and scornful social media posts.
    — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Tribunals have been appointed, and Coriolanus’ scornful elitism strikes them as too heavy a price for his military protection.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Definition of scornful
Adverb
  • Fresh off a max contract extension, Reaves has had a quiet yet ruthlessly efficient start to the year in Doncic’s shadow.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2026
  • But no deal has materialized because Fenkel and Katz have ruthlessly protected A24’s cool factor (the abstract secret sauce that’s trained younger generations to reclaim the moviegoing experience and make edgy auteurs their idols).
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of ruthlessly
Adjective
  • Felix points to Trump’s disparaging and false comments against Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, which put a target on the back of many Haitian immigrants.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 29 Apr. 2026
  • The irony is that Trump has been more disparaging and dismissive of the military than any other president.
    — Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Mar. 2026
Definition of disparaging
Adverb
  • But at least for now, the blue tsunami has forced the man who mercilessly bullied his way through the last two years to do what all bullies do when confronted with a united opposition.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Lifelong Republicans who didn’t fall in line were mercilessly attacked.
    — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of mercilessly

Browse Nearby Words

unkindliness
unkindly
unkindness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Unkindly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unkindly. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of lissome

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All