callous

¹cal·lous

adjective \ˈka-ləs\

Definition of CALLOUS

1

a : being hardened and thickened

b : having calluses <callous hands>

2

a : feeling no emotion

b : feeling or showing no sympathy for others : hard-hearted <a callous indifference to suffering>

— cal·lous·ly adverb

— cal·lous·ness noun

Examples of CALLOUS

1. a selfish and callous young man
2. a callous refusal to help the poor
3. … under Orton's own companionable charm there was something hard and callous, the result no doubt of a loveless upbringing … —Benedict Nightingale, New York Times Book Review, 10 May 1987
4. … the scenes involving the snotty, callous dean ring false right from the start … —Pauline Kael, New Yorker, 8 Apr. 1985
5. Patient, cold and callous, our hands wrapped in socks, we waited to snowball the cats. —Dylan Thomas, “A Child's Christmas in Wales” in Quite Early One Morning, 1954

Origin of CALLOUS

Middle English, from Latin callosus, from callum, callus callous skin

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to CALLOUS

Synonyms

affectless, hard, case-hardened, cold-blooded, compassionless, desensitized, hard-boiled, hard-hearted, heartless, indurate, inhuman, inhumane, insensate, insensitive, ironhearted, merciless, obdurate, pachydermatous, pitiless, remorseless, ruthless, slash-and-burn, soulless, stony (also stoney), stonyhearted, take-no-prisoners, thick-skinned, uncharitable, unfeeling, unmerciful, unsparing, unsympathetic

Antonyms

charitable, compassionate, humane, kindhearted, kindly, merciful, sensitive, softhearted, sympathetic, tender, tenderhearted, warm, warmhearted

Related Words

boorish, heedless, inconsiderate, thoughtless, uncaring, unfriendly, unloving, unthinking; grim, hard-bitten, harsh, heavy-handed, ironfisted, ironhanded, jackbooted, knock-down, drag-out (or knock-down-and-drag-out), oppressive, rough, rough-and-tumble, severe, sledgehammer, stern, tough, ungentle; abusive, acrimonious, disagreeable, hateful, ill-natured, ill-tempered, malevolent, malicious, mean, rancorous, spiteful, surly, virulent; barbarous, bestial, brutal, brutish, cruel, evil-minded, savage, vicious; austere, cold, frosty

Near Antonyms

benevolent, benignant, gentle, kind; clement, indulgent, lenient, mild; cordial, friendly, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious; tolerant, understanding; affectionate, fond, loving

Rhymes with CALLOUS

balas, callus, chalice, gallus, malice, palace, Pallas, phallus, thallus

²cal·lous

transitive verb \ˈka-ləs\

Definition of CALLOUS

: to make callous (see ¹callous) <hands calloused by hard manual labor>

Origin of CALLOUS

(see ¹callous)

First Known Use: 1834

Other Biology Terms

autochthonous, fecund, homunculus, phylogeny, substrate

Rhymes with CALLOUS

callus, palace

cal·lous

adjective \ˈkal-əs\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of CALLOUS

1

: being hardened and thickened

2

: having calluses