ungentle

adjective

un·​gen·​tle ˌən-ˈjen-tᵊl 

: not gentle : lacking in softness, delicacy, etc. : harsh, rough

an ungentle touch

… with the two gentlemen pursuing their ungentle quarrel in magazines, television studios, and courtrooms …

—Hendrik Hertzberg

ungently

ˌən-ˈjent-lē 

adverb

… taking him, not ungently, by the loose front of his red woollen shirt …

—Charles Dickens

ungently told her no

Synonyms

• austere
• dour
• fierce
• flinty
• forbidding
• grim
• gruff
• intimidating
• lowering
• louring
• rough
• rugged
• severe
• stark
• steely
• stern

Examples of ungentle in a Sentence

a demanding and ungentle land that was not for the fainthearted

Recent Examples on the Web

But going back to trying to be gentle in ungentle times. —Stephanie Stradley, Houston Chronicle, 25 Sep. 2020

Notes From an Apocalypse is a gentle argument for coming to terms with the precarity of life, published in a moment where people are facing its fragility in an immediate and ungentle context. —Kate Knibbs, Wired, 16 Apr. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1509, in the meaning defined above