kindness
Americannoun
-
the state or quality of being kind.
kindness to animals.
- Synonyms:
- tenderness, compassion, sympathy, charity, generosity, humanity, benevolence, benignity
- Antonyms:
- malevolence
-
a kind act; favor.
his many kindnesses to me.
-
kind behavior.
I will never forget your kindness.
- Synonyms:
- tenderness, compassion, sympathy, charity, generosity, humanity, benevolence, benignity
- Antonyms:
- cruelty
-
friendly feeling; liking.
noun
-
the practice or quality of being kind
-
a kind, considerate, or helpful act
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of kindness
First recorded in 1250–1300, kindness is from the Middle English word kindenes. See kind 1, -ness
Explanation
If someone asks you to do them a kindness, they mean a nice, kind act, the kind that makes you think of puppies and daisies. The noun kindness can be used for a kind act or to describe someone's temperament. You might say of someone that her kindness is quite genuine, or on the other hand she fakes kindness to get what she wants.
Vocabulary lists containing kindness
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ness
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Emma Garman’s “The Kindness of Strangers” is set in London in 1953, a postwar era so drab that even the weather seems exhausted.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
“We had to make it right,” Bass wrote, adding in a separate post: “We got the chance to make a sweet little girl’s night. There’s nothing better. Kindness is free. Always remember that.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026
Kindness, including for oneself, helps clear the debris of the past.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 23, 2025
The film is Stone's fourth collaboration with Lanthimos following The Favourite, Kinds of Kindness and Poor Things - which won the 36-year-old her second best actress Oscar.
From BBC • Aug. 29, 2025
Kindness like that is the daffodils of the world, the dewdrops, the grass stains on the knees of jeans, yet she is sick to death of being a sweetheart.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
