Standard Lemma guide

unsympathetic

adj · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • rhymes with -ɛtɪk
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 N S IH2 M P AH0 TH EH1 T IH0 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not sympathetic; ill-disposed

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cold, harsh, brutal, callous, cold-eyed, cruel, dour, flint-hearted, forbidding, frosty, grim, hard, hard-boiled, hardened, hardhearted, heartless, humorless, icy, iron-hearted, insensate, insensitive, marble-hearted, rigorous, rockhearted, severe, stern, stonehearted, stony, stonyhearted, strict, tough, unsympathetic, unmoved

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective

Meaning 2

not sympathetic or disposed toward

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • unsympathetic officialdom
  • people unsympathetic to the revolution
  • his dignity made him seem aloof and unsympathetic

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: sympathetic

3

adjective

Meaning 3

(of characters in literature or drama) tending to evoke antipathetic feelings

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • all the characters were peculiarly unsympathetic

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unappealing, unlikeable, unlikable

Antonyms: sympathetic

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

not agreeing with your tastes or expectations

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • found the task disagreeable and decided to abandon it
  • a job temperamentally unsympathetic to him

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: disagreeable

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

lacking in sympathy and kindness

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • unkindly ancts

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unkindly

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

not having an open mind

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a closed mind unreceptive to new ideas

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: closed

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English sympathetic English unsympathetic From un- + sympathetic.

Across languages

Translations

22 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Danish: usympatisk — not sympathetic
  • Finnish: vastenmielinen — not sympathetic
  • French: antipathique — not sympathetic
  • German: teilnahmslos — not sympathetic
  • German: mitleidslos — not sympathetic
  • Greek: άπονος (áponos) — not sympathetic
  • Greek: ασυμπαθής (asympathís) — not sympathetic
  • Hindi: रूखा (rūkhā) — not sympathetic
  • Icelandic: ógeðfelldur — not sympathetic
  • Icelandic: óviðkunnanlegur — not sympathetic
  • Icelandic: óviðfelldinn — not sympathetic
  • Irish: neamhchásmhar — not sympathetic
  • Irish: antuisceanach — not sympathetic
  • Italian: antipatico — not sympathetic
  • Japanese: つれない (tsurenai) — not sympathetic
  • Norwegian Bokmål: usympatisk — not sympathetic
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: usympatisk — not sympathetic
  • Polish: obojętny — not sympathetic
  • Polish: nieczuły — not sympathetic
  • Sicilian: lisciu — not sympathetic
  • Swedish: osympatisk — not sympathetic
  • Urdu: روکھا (rūkhā) — not sympathetic