unkindly
Americanadjective
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not kindly; unkind; ill-natured.
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inclement or bleak, as weather or climate.
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unfavorable for crops.
unkindly soil.
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unkindly
Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at un- 1, kindly
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.
Her inflated self-esteem is a force of nature never wielded unkindly, unless provoked.
From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2026
As a reader might gather, “Neighbors” falls into the category of what is unkindly categorized as freak-show documentary—the characters are objects of morbid curiosity or, maybe, pathos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
The Leeds boss suggested captain Pascal Struijk had seen the ball bounce unkindly in front of his goalkeeper, causing Meslier to let it spin past him.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2024
History books—the serious ones, the sorts of histories that they might read from time to time—will treat them very unkindly.
From Slate ● Dec. 13, 2023
“That’s a real workout, isn’t it?” she observes, not unkindly, and actually offers me a glass of water, the only such offer I ever encounter.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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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.
