take kindly to

Idioms and Phrases

Be receptive to, attracted by, or pleased with, as in He'll take kindly to the criticism if it's constructive , or Henry won't take kindly to your stepping on his newly planted grass . This idiom uses kindly in the sense of “in a pleasant or agreeable manner.” [c. 1800]

Example Sentences

As an adult, I drove through the small towns of central and eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, feeling at home in areas even my white friends warned wouldn’t take kindly to “my type.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Judges aren’t going to take kindly to that no matter who they are.”

From Salon

They didn’t take kindly to people pretending to be officers of the law.

From Literature

"They will not take kindly to having been clubbed along with authoritarian countries like China."

From BBC

When George and Harden did, Lue didn’t take kindly to their remarks.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• accept
• authorize
• boost
• empower
• enable
• endorse
• grant
• have
• license
• sanction
• tolerate
• warrant