1
general::
unkind
treating people in a way that makes them unhappy or upset. Unkind sounds rather formal. In everyday English, people usually say mean or nasty:
• Children can be very unkind to each other. • a rather unkind remark
mean
especially spoken unkind:
• Don’t be mean to your sister! • It was a mean thing to do.
nasty
deliberately unkind, and seeming to enjoy making people unhappy:
• He said some really nasty things before he left. • a nasty man
hurtful
unkind – used about remarks and actions:
• Joe couldn’t forget the hurtful things she had said. • Couples sometimes do hurtful things to each other.
spiteful
deliberately unkind to someone because you are jealous of them or angry with them:
• The other women were spiteful to her, and gave her the hardest work to do. • She watched them with spiteful glee (= pleasure ) .
malicious
deliberately behaving in a way that is likely to upset, hurt, or cause problems for someone:
• Someone had been spreading malicious rumours about him. • There was a malicious smile on her face. • an act of malicious vandalism • The accusations are malicious.
unsympathetic
not seeming to care about someone’s problems, and not trying to help them or make them feel better:
• Her parents were very unsympathetic, and told her that she deserved to fail her exam. • an unsympathetic boss
hard-hearted
very unsympathetic and not caring at all about other people’s feelings:
• Was he hard-hearted enough to leave his son in jail overnight? • a hard-hearted businessman
very unkind
horrible
especially spoken very unkind:
• Why is Jack always so horrible to me?
cruel
very unkind and deliberately making people feel unhappy or making them suffer physically:
• Her father was very cruel to her. • a selfish, cruel woman
wicked
extremely unkind and behaving in a very immoral way:
• a wicked thing to do • the wicked stepmother in Cinderella
sadistic
extremely unkind and enjoying making other people suffer:
• Their father was a sadistic bully who beat them regularly. • He took a certain sadistic pleasure in his job.
unintentionally unkind
thoughtless/inconsiderate
not thinking about the effects of your actions on other people:
• It was inconsiderate of him not to say that he would be late. • a thoughtless disregard for other people’s feelings
tactless
someone who is tactless carelessly says or does things that are likely to upset someone, without realizing what they are doing:
• How could you be so tactless? • a tactless question
insensitive
behaving in a way that is likely to upset someone, or not seeming to care about someone’s feelings. Insensitive is rather a formal word:
• The article is insensitive to the family and friends of the victim. • He later admitted that some of his remarks were ‘insensitive’.
Longman-Thesaurus