kill with kindness

verb

To pacify somebody by remaining goodhearted.

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Meanings

verbkill with kindness (third-person singular simple present kills with kindness, present participle killing with kindness, simple past and past participle killed with kindness)

present singular third person kills with kindness · participle present killing with kindness · participle past killed with kindness · past killed with kindness

  1. transitiveTo pacify somebody by remaining goodhearted.

    After all these years of experience I know that some customers just act bad. You know, like bratty kids. I try to kill them with kindness, I yes them to death. Sometimes it will work and they will give me respect. Other times it doesn't.

    2002, Mary Lizabeth Gatta, Juggling Food and Feelings: Emotional Balance in the Workplace, Lexington Books, →ISBN, page 64
Cite this entry
APA

kill with kindness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kill%20with%20kindness

MLA

“kill with kindness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kill%20with%20kindness. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kill with kindness,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kill%20with%20kindness.

Source: kill with kindness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.