unkind
Americanadjective
adjective
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lacking kindness; unsympathetic or cruel
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archaic
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(of weather) unpleasant
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(of soil) hard to cultivate
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Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unkind
Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; see origin at un- 1, kind 1
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:
If you do not address your feelings and process them, they will manifest themselves in other ways — an unkind remark or a silent fury.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
It’s the sort of line that doesn’t stand up to an unkind reading.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
"They've said some very unkind things about Britain, and also about the monarchy."
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
"One of the many things I regret is that I hurt so many people by giving them nasty nicknames, and above all that I was unkind to the children of celebrities."
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
“Get in here. We’re gonna give you a ride, gal,” said a rough, unkind voice.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
It’s not at all a serious remark, yet it’s a reflection of Stewart’s regular-guy populism — or, to be unkinder, provincialism.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 30, 2021
“The cuts seem unkinder now than they’ve ever been,” said Jeff Shesol, a Democratic speechwriter.
From New York Times ● Oct. 25, 2014
The new low, low hemline has been officially named the Midi, but many fashionplates have unkinder words for it.
From Time Magazine Archive
Some months later, the women of Walsenburg dealt Mosco an even unkinder cut: they asked him to serve without any salary at all, and. then, when he refused, fired him outright.
From Time Magazine Archive
She had heard her husband laugh away much unkinder remarks than this.
From Australia Felix by Henry Handel Richardson
For the American people to turn their back on them would be the unkindest cut of all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
Like other prestige dramas' unkindest deaths, it may serve a higher purpose.
From Salon ● Apr. 21, 2025
I am talking about some of the unkindest cuts, the curious tinkering I have of late experienced with texts of Shakespeare, changes that come across as willful rather than illuminating, silly instead of clever.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 22, 2022
Maybe the unkindest cut came after the relocation vote at the Board of Governors meeting in Dallas.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 2, 2020
But for this man, wise, educated, and good, who thinks he is our friend, to do just the things that our worst enemies will be glad of, is the unkindest cut of all.
From History of Woman Suffrage, Volume II by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
