unkind

unkind
un‧kind /ˌʌnˈkaɪnd◂/ adjectivenasty, unpleasant, or cruel:
    A lot of unkind things were said.
    unkind to
    Her husband is very unkind to her.
—unkindly adverb
—unkindness noun [uncountable]
     
REGISTER
  In everyday English, people usually say mean, nasty, or horrible rather than unkind:
  ▪ The other kids were really mean to me.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ 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 /ˈwɪkəd, ˈwɪkɪd/ 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’.