unkind

American  

[uhn-kahynd] / ʌnˈkaɪnd /

adjective

unkinder, unkindest

1. lacking in kindness or mercy; severe.

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unkind British  

/ ʌnˈkaɪnd /

adjective

1. lacking kindness; unsympathetic or cruel

2. archaic

   1. (of weather) unpleasant

   2. (of soil) hard to cultivate

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Other Word Forms

• unkindly adverb
• unkindness noun

Etymology

Origin of unkind

Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; un- ¹, kind ¹

Example Sentences

Head teacher Tom Beveridge, said it had "reduced the number of incidents of children being unkind to each other online and, anecdotally in lessons, students are more focused".

From BBC

The ship owner’s clothes were sea-stained, and his skin hard lived in, but his eyes under the heavy brows were not unkind.

From Literature

I hate to be unkind, but the hotel is a bit down-at-the-heels.

From Literature

Social media has been particularly unkind to teenage girls, putting rocket fuel onto the ordinary adolescent stressors of physical awkwardness, the sadness of comparison and the fireworks of inter-friendship conflicts.

From Los Angeles Times

“This is an attempt to try to make a very rough and unkind world filled with a little bit more love and laughter,” Poehler said of her show’s mission.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cruel
• harsh
• hateful
• insensitive
• malicious
• nasty
• spiteful
• uncaring
• unfriendly