unaffectionate

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unaffectionate But in conversations with his long-suffering wife Louisa and his stern mother Abigail Adams, a less noble side of the man is laid bare: absentee husband, cold, unaffectionate father and inflexible, unlikable politician. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2020 Seward says Diana told her about her ex-husband's unaffectionate childhood with parents Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Simon Perry, PEOPLE.com, 21 Sep. 2020 Kyung, a Korean-American, grew up financially comfortable — surrounded by tutors, music lessons and other markers of success — but in loveless, unaffectionate surroundings. Joumana Khatib, New York Times, 11 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unaffectionate
Adjective
  • And at its head, always, sits Adele’s husband Caesar (Tommaso Ragno), a stern but not unloving patriarch with the sonorous voice of a man used to being obeyed, who runs the local one-room school where all of his kids, bar his youngest, sickly infant, are taught the same lessons regardless of age.
    Jessica Kiang, Variety, 2 Sep. 2024
  • Money notwithstanding, another possible explanation for the Fletcher kids’ unhappiness as adults is that their parents were simply bad parents, distant and unloving.
    Adelle Waldman, The Atlantic, 9 July 2024
Adjective
  • Wins Best Film at Critics Awards for Arab Films Far from the bristling emotional potency of Petzold’s previous muse Nina Hoss, Beer can be an aloof, hard-to-read presence.
    Guy Lodge, Variety, 17 May 2025
  • One of the central conflicts begins when the cute five-year-old daughter, I-Jing (Nina Ye), is reprimanded by her otherwise aloof grandfather for being left-handed.
    Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 14 May 2025
Adjective
  • Elon Musk appeared to cast an unfriendly gaze at South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during President Donald Trump’s meeting with the foreign leader on Wednesday.
    Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 21 May 2025
  • The more cynical one is that Trump and Musk know this and want to weaponize it to their electoral advantage, intentionally depriving what are understood to be unfriendly voters of their right to to participate in elections with onerous requirements or simply zapping them from the rolls.
    New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Having bounced around uncaring foster homes as a child, Mike maintains minimal contact with his adoptive parents and is skeptical about how much help the authorities can provide with his rehabilitation.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2025
  • In recent years, Update has emerged as the most reliable segment in an often-uneven show, as Che and Jost honed their oddball chemistry as an uncaring provocateur paired with a snarky guy willing to parody his own privilege.
    Eric Deggans, NPR, 18 May 2025
Adjective
  • The attention economy is controlled by tech platforms that are indifferent, if not outright hostile, to quality journalism.
    Jessica Sibley, Time, 19 May 2025
  • Safety concerns are indifferent to days of the week, and increased awareness of the general and hunting public of each other’s presence and enjoyment of the outdoors are already well established in the state.
    Brandon Gleason, Hartford Courant, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • He isn’t disgusted by sexuality, just innocent and uninterested.
    Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2025
  • And very worried about our children who seem incapable and uninterested in supporting themselves.
    R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2025
Adjective
  • Wes Anderson is talking about a surreal moment that occurs early in his latest film, The Phoenician Scheme, in which the protagonist, the ruthless international tycoon Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro), experiences a vision of the afterlife.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 18 May 2025
  • Ralph Fiennes will play the ruthless Panem dictator in director Francis Lawrence‘s forthcoming film in the franchise, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.
    Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • Gilroy drew upon his lifelong study of historical revolutions to inform the show’s interweaving storylines of payroll heists and gulag escapes, street riots and false flag operations, squabbling freedom fighters and pitiless secret police.
    Adam B. Vary, Variety, 13 May 2025
  • Her loss unleashed Twain’s anger at pitiless fate, and his relationships with his two surviving daughters became increasingly estranged.
    Mary Ann Gwinn, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Unaffectionate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unaffectionate. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.

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