Etymology
Origin of kindliness
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at kindly, -ness
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.
She delivers a vocally expressive performance and gives the digitally recreated face the necessary intelligence, wit and kindliness.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2025
“Dogs and horses, courtesy, kindliness and community service, count with her,” biographer Giles Brandreth wrote.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 8, 2022
Trilling had published a scolding review of “Portnoy’s Complaint,” characterizing the then 36-year-old Roth as “grimly deterministic,” and the novel itself as lacking “virtues of courage, kindliness, responsibility.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2018
Yet this streetwise kindliness is like a shark fin cutting through clear water.
From Salon • Aug. 22, 2016
Monte Carlo was suddenly full of kindliness and charm, the one place in the world that held sincerity.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
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.
