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:
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
There’s no denying that as a comedian, he is often unkind.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
Some of the online judgment may seem unkind, but in today’s market, the criticism may be valid.
From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026
She figured Wash would be fine fishing alone, but it seemed unkind not to let him know that the twins weren’t coming.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
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
No one said unkinder things to my face than he did, and yet behind my back I knew that many a time he had made things smoother for me with his parents.
From Dwell Deep or Hilda Thorn's Life Story by Amy Le Feuvre
But for Subaru’s tree-hugging clientele, the unkindest cut has been fuel economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
Like other prestige dramas' unkindest deaths, it may serve a higher purpose.
From Salon ● Apr. 21, 2025
Maybe the unkindest cut came after the relocation vote at the Board of Governors meeting in Dallas.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 2, 2020
We need people to stop this unkindest cut of all.
From New York Times ● Nov. 8, 2017
Emma and Marie Caroline were kindred spirits—which is perhaps the unkindest thing I could say about either of them—and they quickly formed a lasting friendship for each other.
From Superwomen by Albert Payson Terhune
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.
