kindly
Americanadjective
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having, showing, or proceeding from a benevolent disposition or spirit; kindhearted.
kindly people.
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gentle or mild, as rule or laws.
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pleasant, agreeable, or benign.
kindly climate.
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favorable, as soil for crops.
adjective
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having a sympathetic or warm-hearted nature
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motivated by warm and sympathetic feelings
a kindly act
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pleasant, mild, or agreeable
a kindly climate
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archaic natural; normal
adverb
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in a considerate or humane way
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with tolerance or forbearance
he kindly forgave my rudeness
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cordially; pleasantly
he greeted us kindly
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please (often used to express impatience or formality)
will you kindly behave yourself!
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archaic in accordance with nature; appropriately
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to react unfavourably towards
Synonym Usage
See kind 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of kindly
First recorded before 900; Middle English kyndly (adjective and adverb), Old English gecyndelīc “natural,” gecyndelīce “naturally”; see kind 1, -ly
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.
See Examples For:
Not to worry, a kindly male neighbor assures Adam — her maternal urges will kick right in after the babies are born.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
Marset did not take kindly to the admonition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
He said he did not receive any form of payment for his official recognition, but joked: "If any carrot farmer wants to give him some carrots, he'd kindly have them."
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
But Jane, who enters her office to an oil painting of her father, smiling kindly in a maroon armchair, is confident that Sol would have wanted his holdings intact for generations to come.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
There was perhaps an extra knob or two on the misshapen head, teeth were missing—but to that vast, kindly ugliness the beating had made no real difference at all.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
In theory — or in a kindlier, alternative universe — exercise would aid substantially in weight loss.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 22, 2021
“Bonobos have evolved in a forest that is kindlier in its food supply, and that allows them to be kindly, too,” Wrangham and Peterson write.
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 13, 2019
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., opened the House prayer asking at "a time fraught with tribalism at home and turbulence abroad" that lawmakers "become the architects of a kindlier nation."
From Fox News ● Jan. 3, 2019
Artists who have worked with the company describe her as a mother and a nurturer, a kindlier one than Bessie or Chekhov’s Arkadina or Brecht’s Mother Courage, roles she has also played.
From New York Times ● Jun. 25, 2015
“It's all right, I guess, Sonny,” she said in a kindlier tone.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
Decades of retelling this story means "kindliest" has now turned into "friendliest".
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026
It’s also the band’s noisiest album — and perhaps its kindliest.
From New York Times ● Apr. 17, 2024
So I completely get why Larry David would lay hands on the world’s kindliest Muppet on live TV.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2024
Boldest of all is the brief appearance of Richard O’Rourke as Ronald Paquin, a retired priest, who answers the door to Pfeiffer and answers her questions with the kindliest of smiles.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 9, 2015
Finally, he leaned toward her and said in the kindliest sort of voice, “What book did you have in mind, my dear?”
From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson
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.
