INDEX:
1. treating someone unkindly
2. unkind comments or remarks
3. unkind, but not deliberately unkind
4. having no sympathy for other people’s problems
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ KIND
see also
↑ CRUEL
↑ BAD
↑ RUDE
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1. treating someone unkindly
▷ unkind /ˌʌnˈkaɪnd◂/ [adjective]
someone who is unkind treats people in a way that makes them unhappy or upset :
▪ Children can be very unkind.
unkind to
▪ I felt very sorry for being unkind to her.
it is unkind (of somebody) to do something
▪ It would be unkind to keep him in suspense for too long.
unkindly [adverb]
▪ He loves you, Fiona, even though you treat him so unkindly.
▪ She laughed unkindly at his misfortune.
unkindness [uncountable noun]
▪ I couldn’t forgive their unkindness towards me.
▷ mean /miːn/ [adjective]
someone who is mean deliberately speaks to someone unkindly or does things to annoy them or make them angry :
▪ She hated him for being so mean. Why was he stopping her from seeing her friends?
▪ I never thought he was capable of doing such a mean thing to his brother.
mean to
▪ He was mean to those who worked for him and generous to those who he hardly knew.
it is mean (of somebody) to do something
▪ It was mean of you to disturb her when she was having a rest.
▷ nasty /ˈnɑːstiǁˈnæsti/ [adjective]
someone who is nasty is deliberately unkind, and seems to enjoy making people unhappy :
▪ When I was a child I did some nasty things to my little brother.
▪ I don’t mean to be nasty, but I don’t think we should work together any more.
nasty to
▪ Paul, you mustn’t be nasty to the children. You’ll make them cry.
nastiness [uncountable noun]
▪ She tried to make me look silly. She did it out of sheer nastiness.
▷ cruel /ˈkruːəl/ [adjective]
someone who is cruel is very unkind, and does not seem to care about other people’s feelings :
▪ He didn’t seem the sort of man to be cruel on purpose.
cruel to
▪ She married a man who was very cruel to her.
it is cruel (of somebody) to do something
▪ It was cruel of you to frighten the poor boy like that.
cruelly [adverb]
▪ The other girls teased her cruelly because she was different.
cruelty [uncountable noun]
▪ As a result of the scandal, his family was exposed to the cruelty of the press.
▷ spiteful /ˈspaɪtf ə l/ [adjective]
deliberately unkind to someone because you are jealous of them or angry with them :
▪ Failure had made him bitter and spiteful.
▪ That was a wicked and spiteful thing to do.
spitefully [adverb]
▪ ‘I never liked her anyway,’ Rob said spitefully.
▷ be hard on /biː ˈhɑːʳd ɒn somebody/ [verb phrase]
to be unkind to someone by criticizing them or treating them more severely than is fair :
▪ He’s only just started work here -- you mustn’t be too hard on him.
▪ I thought you were a little hard on Denise, not letting her go to the party.
▷ give somebody a hard time /ˌgɪv somebody ə ˌhɑːʳd ˈtaɪm/ [verb phrase] informal
to be unkind to someone by criticizing them in a way that is not fair :
▪ She left the company because her boss was giving her a really hard time.
▪ Stop giving me such a hard time. I’m doing my best.
▷ take something out on /ˌteɪk something ˈaʊt ɒn/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to be unkind to someone because you are angry or upset about something else, even though it is not their fault :
▪ I know you’ve had a bad day at the office, but don’t take it out on me.
▪ I’m sorry I was rotten to you, but there was no one else to take it out on.
2. unkind comments or remarks
▷ unkind /ˌʌnˈkaɪnd◂/ [adjective]
something you say to someone that is unkind, makes them feel unhappy or upset :
▪ He said some very unkind things about my clothes.
▪ She was used to the unkind remarks made by other students.
unkind about
▪ Why are you always so unkind about Christina?
never say an unkind word about somebody
▪ I never heard her say an unkind word about anyone.
▷ behind somebody’s back /bɪˌhaɪnd somebodyˈs ˈbæk/ [adverb]
if you talk about someone behind their back, you say rude or unkind things about them when they are not present :
▪ I’m sure the other girls are talking about me behind my back.
▪ His name is Mr McLeod, but his students call him ‘Big Nose’ behind his back.
▷ caustic /ˈkɔːstɪk/ [adjective usually before noun]
criticizing someone or something in an unkind but clever way :
▪ Hayward made some pretty caustic comments about your poetry.
caustic wit/humour
▪ Some of his students were alienated by his caustic wit.
▷ cutting /ˈkʌtɪŋ/ [adjective]
a remark that is cutting is very unkind and is intended to hurt someone’s feelings, especially by making them feel stupid or unimportant :
▪ Emily always managed to say something cutting whenever we met at a party.
▪ At the meeting Mark made some cutting remarks about Sally, who wasn’t there to defend herself.
▷ bitchy /ˈbɪtʃi/ [adjective]
someone who is bitchy or who makes bitchy remarks says unkind things about another person, especially about the way they look or behave - used especially by women when talking about other women :
▪ She was always making bitchy comments about people’s clothes and make-up.
bitchy about/towards
▪ The other girls in my class were often bitchy towards me because I studied so hard.
▷ snide /snaɪd/ [adjective usually before noun]
a snide remark criticizes someone in an unkind way, but is not very direct :
▪ As she uttered these words she realized they sounded snide and insinuating.
snide comments/remarks
▪ The teacher kept making snide comments about my pronunciation, which really embarrassed me.
▷ vicious /ˈvɪʃəs/ [adjective]
cruel and deliberately intended to hurt someone’s feelings or to make their character seem very bad :
▪ The Senator launched a vicious attack on the former President.
▪ Someone is conducting a vicious campaign of false rumours against the Royal Family.
viciously [adverb]
▪ Margaret viciously blamed her husband for all that had happened.
3. unkind, but not deliberately unkind
▷ thoughtless/inconsiderate /ˈθɔːtləs, ˌɪnkənˈsɪd ə rə̇t◂/ [adjective]
someone who is thoughtless or inconsiderate only thinks about their own situation, their own enjoyment etc, and does not think about the effects that their actions will have on other people :
▪ A few thoughtless people have spoiled the holiday for everyone else.
▪ I have an inconsiderate neighbour who plays loud music late at night.
it is thoughtless/inconsiderate of somebody to do something
▪ It was thoughtless of him to mention her divorce when she’s so upset.
▪ I’m sorry, it was inconsiderate of me to phone so early.
▷ insensitive /ɪnˈsensɪtɪv, ɪnˈsensətɪv/ [adjective]
someone who is insensitive does not notice when other people are upset or when something that they do might upset other people :
▪ How could you be so insensitive?
insensitive to somebody’s feelings/needs etc
▪ Doctors sometimes seem insensitive to their patients’ feelings.
insensitivity /ɪnˌsensɪˈtɪvəti, ɪnˌsensəˈtɪvəti/ [uncountable noun]
▪ the insensitivity of some police officers in the way they treat rape victims
▷ tactless /ˈtæktləs/ [adjective]
someone who is tactless says or does things that offend other people or hurt their feelings, without intending to and without realizing that they have done it :
▪ He made all sorts of tactless remarks about her appearance.
it is tactless (of somebody) to do something
▪ It was a bit tactless of you to start talking about her ex-boyfriend.
4. having no sympathy for other people’s problems
▷ unsympathetic /ˌʌnsɪmpəˈθetɪk/ [adjective]
someone who is unsympathetic does not show you any sympathy when you need help or when you tell them about your troubles :
▪ I explained our problems to the bank manager, but he remained unsympathetic.
▪ I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be unsympathetic, but I don’t see how I can help.
▪ Our appeal for government help met with an unsympathetic response.
▷ hard-hearted /ˌhɑːʳd ˈhɑːʳtə̇d◂/ [adjective]
someone who is hard-hearted does not feel any sympathy and does not care at all when people are in trouble or pain and ask for help :
▪ a hard-hearted and unprincipled man
▪ I’ve tried to help in the past, but I think now I have to be hard-hearted and make them help themselves.