as in cruel
feeling or showing a desire to cause harm or pain
a mean-spirited person He wrote a mean-spirited book review.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mean-spirited
While most are supportive, a fair number are critical, even mean-spirited.
—
Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 16 June 2023
Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 16 June 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mean-spirited
Adjective
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The current government’s purposeful misrepresentation and defamation of DEI in such a comprehensively cruel and malicious manner deserves nothing less than personal and communal outrage and resistance.—
Dr. Tony Lux,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
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Immigrant advocates call those moves cruel and unnecessary.—
Joel Rose,
NPR,
8 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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By the time Hezbollah launched its bombardment of Israel in solidarity with Hamas' vicious attack on Israel, the militant Lebanese organization had managed to build a significant military capability under the nose of UNFIL and was more robust than ever before.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
13 Feb. 2025
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Nashville's Bad Idea is a wine bar and restaurant set in a former Presbyterian church that fell into disrepair after a vicious tornado.—
USA TODAY,
USA TODAY,
13 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The two central characters, a mild bespectacled middle-school geek named Hal and his hateful abusive bully of a twin brother, Bill (both are played by Christian Convery), discover the monkey sealed away in a round box.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2025
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Indeed, Ye advertised his Yeezy website during the 2025 Super Bowl broadcast Sunday (Feb. 9), which aired amid a days-long storm of hateful tweets from the star targeting Jewish people.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
10 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Eagles edge rusher Josh Sweat had the splashiest individual stat line with 2.5 sacks, but a crew of nasty defensive tackles wrought devastation versus the run and the pass.—
Tim Graham,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
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What follows is a twisted game of house where familiar familial relationships crumble and new ones take root like nasty black weeds.—
M.L. Rio,
New York Times,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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In a globalized, corporate, shifting world that can feel unkind to consumers, the fight for Mt. Bachelor is about the desire to capture something cherished and put it back in the hands of the people who love it most.—
John Branch,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
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To use his own words against him is unkind, but with a million people relying on him, Dan Campbell crumpled under the pressure.—
Colton Pouncy,
The Athletic,
19 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Shirley is young and obnoxious, compulsively going live on Instagram and carrying her phone around on a little beaded leash.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
6 Feb. 2025
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Kelce has officially become the obnoxious face of the Chiefs.—
Bill Reinhard,
New York Daily News,
6 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Biden’s mean-spirited, spiteful actions are only more reasons for Americans to vote Republican in future elections.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
10 Jan. 2025
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Iannucci may spin stories of spiteful people, but Iannucci the person is different.—
John Baldoni,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The arguments Republicans have made in their opposition to Joe Biden’s contemptuous pardons are pretty compelling.—
Noah Rothman,
National Review,
21 Jan. 2025
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Written by Fielding, Richard Naylor and Jon Brittain, the series followed the contemptuous life of the 18th-century highwayman, known in York, England, as a thief, poacher and killer but whose exploits have been widely romanticized in modern culture.—
Lily Ford,
The Hollywood Reporter,
16 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near mean-spirited
Cite this Entry
“Mean-spirited.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mean-spirited. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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