How to Use well-meaning in a Sentence

well-meaning

adjective
  • To play it safe, Lennon flushed it down the toilet — much to the disappointment of the well-meaning Smith.
    — Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 12 Oct. 2024
  • As the pressure mounts, even a well-meaning boss can become the one nobody wants to work for.
    — Kevin Kruse, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
  • Romance is also in the air for Muriel’s, who’s been fixed up by her well-meaning friends.
    — Sara Netzley, EW.com, 19 Dec. 2024
  • As to those well-meaning folks who offer you these pep talks, be polite.
    — Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 4 June 2023
  • Nice, well-meaning folks don’t raise a man who can take a life without blinking an eye.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 12 Dec. 2024
  • Many well-meaning gardeners and nature lovers feed whole or carved pumpkins to deer at the end of fall.
    — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Oct. 2024
  • Some are clear mess-ups, the short-fuse snaps or hurtful comments that even well-meaning parents make.
    — Isabella Cueto, STAT, 17 July 2023
  • Sometimes well-meaning adults try to keep the padding in place anyway, only to make things harder for the child.
    — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 16 Oct. 2023
  • The West Wing represents the most earnest end of the spectrum, showing us well-meaning adults running the country.
    — Whizy Kim, Vox, 23 July 2024
  • When users don’t trust a platform, even well-meaning attempts to make things better can make things worse.
    — Scott Duke Kominers, The Atlantic, 22 Mar. 2024
  • To someone who fell forward, burned on their front, and was then rolled over by a well-meaning bystander, burning the back of their body too.
    — Lane Sainty, USA TODAY, 10 Sep. 2024
  • Without the right tools, even well-meaning philanthropists can slow down their progress and impact.
    — Kris Putnam-Walkerly, Forbes, 13 Sep. 2024
  • The incident is just par for the course for Gomez, Hollywood’s busiest—if most well-meaning—gossip girl.
    — Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 11 Jan. 2024
  • In 2016, the well-meaning liberals who would later display in-this-house signs on their lawns were in the market for a certain kind of book.
    — Becca Rothfeld, Washington Post, 23 July 2024
  • His actions during that flight were a well-meaning attempt simply to wake himself up from the dream.
    — Jolie Lash, ABC News, 16 Nov. 2023
  • For some, the hollow, well-meaning sympathy proves too harsh to stomach.
    — Joseph Lezza, Longreads, 30 Mar. 2023
  • But along with the excitement also comes the advice of well-meaning abuelos, tías, cousins, and friends on how to raise our children.
    — Lola Sanchez, Parents, 29 May 2024
  • Or, your well-meaning mother won’t stop grilling you about still being single.
    — Jenna Ryu, SELF, 26 Dec. 2024
  • But even well-meaning physicians are not immune to the dynamic.
    — Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Dec. 2023
  • Most striking is that milk’s return to favor isn’t being led by kids and their well-meaning parents.
    — HubSpot, 2 May 2025
  • The dragonflies and ants captivated me more than the text or my well-meaning teacher.
    — Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2023
  • Ultimately, the actor is remembered by many of the show’s cast and crew as a gifted, well-meaning artist.
    — Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 8 Sep. 2024
  • Alex makes it to Grand Central to buy a train ticket to Bozeman where the well-meaning gent who sells her the ticket delivers a version of the same sermon.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2025
  • And this is, quite bravely, what the movie is interested in—the choice of a victim not to speak out, and the ripples of unease this causes among both well-meaning adults and Julie’s peers.
    — Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 28 Mar. 2025
  • But as one soon-to-be mom recently found out, there is such a thing as getting too much help from a well-meaning family member.
    — Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 13 Mar. 2025
  • Its other big boon is sweet, innocent, well-meaning Hank.
    — Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2024
  • So my target was the well-meaning white liberal who was saying exactly the wrong things to the civil rights movement.
    — Chris Koseluk, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Jan. 2025
  • Hur concluded a jury would find Biden a well-meaning old man who was forgetful.
    — Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2024
  • Yet, this well-meaning act unwittingly deepens the crisis in the Human Realm.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 27 Jan. 2025
  • Even if well-meaning companies can make safe AIs, that doesn’t by itself stop the creation and proliferation of unsafe AIs.
    — Billy Perrigo, Time, 15 Apr. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'well-meaning.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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