Crossword Dictionary
UNKIND
unkind - a
lacking kindness; "a thoughtless and unkind remark"; "the unkindest cut of all"
Synonyms
discourteous, ill-bred, ill-mannered, impertinent, impolite, inconsiderate, rude, surly, uncivil, unfavorable, unmannerly, unpleasant, unsociable
Examples
Monica was a sweetheart who never said an unkind word about a soul.
Be kind to unkind people - they need it most.
He could not say an unkind word to anyone....
Etymology
Old English uncynde "unnatural, not natural;" see un- (1) "not" + kind (adj.). Meaning "lacking in kindness" is recorded from mid-14c.
un- (1)
prefix of negation, Old English un-, from Proto-Germanic *un- (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Old High German, German un-, Gothic un-, Dutch on-), from PIE *n- (source of Sanskrit a-, an- "not," Greek a-, an-, Old Irish an-, Latin in-), combining form of PIE root *ne- "not." Often euphemistic (such as untruth for "lie").
kind (adj.)
"friendly, deliberately doing good to others," Middle English kinde, from Old English (ge)cynde "natural, native, innate," originally "with the feeling of relatives for each other," from Proto-Germanic *kundi- "natural, native," from *kunjam "family" (see kin), with collective or generalizing prefix *ga- and abstract suffix *-iz. The word rarely appeared in Old English without the prefix, but Old English also had it as a word-forming element -cund "born of, of a particular nature" (see kind (n.)). Sense development probably is from "with natural feelings," to "well-disposed" (c. 1300), "benign, compassionate, loving, full of tenderness" (c. 1300).