unkindness

unkindness — noun

1. behaviour or words that show a lack of care for someone else's feelings, often l

1.nounB2
Definition

behaviour or words that show a lack of care for someone else's feelings, often leaving them feeling hurt or upset

Example

Anya was deeply hurt by the unkindness of her classmates' comments about her new haircut.

collocation: 'unkindness of [someone's] [action]'

The manager's casual unkindness toward junior staff created a tense atmosphere in the office.

collocation: 'casual unkindness toward'

Common collocations
  • deliberate unkindness
  • casual unkindness
  • sheer unkindness
  • an act of unkindness
  • show unkindness
  • experience unkindness
  • suffer unkindness
  • unkindness toward/towards someone
Synonyms
  • cruelty

    stronger than unkindness; implies deliberate intent to cause pain or suffering

  • meanness

    more informal than unkindness; suggests petty, small-minded behaviour rather than general lack of care

  • harshness

    focuses on severity or roughness of treatment rather than lack of kindness

  • spite

    implies a deliberate wish to hurt or annoy someone, which unkindness does not always carry

Antonyms
  • kindness

    the direct opposite; thoughtful, caring behaviour toward others

  • compassion

    a deeper, more emotional form of caring that includes sympathy for someone's suffering

  • gentleness

    soft, mild treatment that avoids any trace of hurt or upset

Usage Note

Usually uncountable. To refer to a specific instance, use phrases like 'an act of unkindness' or 'a deliberate unkindness' rather than treating the noun as countable.

Common Mistakes

He showed me many unkindnesses during our time together.
He showed me great unkindness during our time together.
'Unkindness' is uncountable; use 'acts of unkindness' for specific instances.
I was shocked by her unkindness for me.
I was shocked by her unkindness toward me.
The correct preposition is 'toward' or 'towards', not 'for'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While unkindness, cruelty, meanness, harshness, and spite all describe negative behaviour toward others, they differ in intensity and intent. Unkindness is the broadest and mildest term — it covers any lack of care for someone's feelings, whether deliberate or thoughtless. Cruelty is much stronger and implies a conscious desire to cause suffering. Meanness is more informal and suggests small, petty behaviour often motivated by irritation or jealousy. Harshness describes severity of treatment (a harsh punishment or criticism) without necessarily implying cruelty. Spite has a narrower meaning: it is unkindness driven by resentment or a wish to get revenge. For example, forgetting a friend's birthday is unkindness; deliberately excluding them from a party because they hurt you is spite; locking a dog out in freezing weather is cruelty.

cruelty ↗meanness ↗harshnessspite ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • an act of unkindness
  • show unkindness toward

Prepositions

Etymology

GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed by adding the negative prefix un- (Old English un-, of Germanic origin) to kindness, which comes from Middle English kindenes, from Old English cyndnes meaning 'courtesy, generosity'. The word kindness itself derives from the adjective kind, which originally meant 'natural, native' and later took on the sense of 'well-disposed, friendly'.