heartless

adjective

heart·​less ˈhärt-ləs How to pronounce heartless (audio)
1
archaic : spiritless
2
: lacking feeling : cruel
heartlessly adverb
heartlessness noun

Examples of heartless in a Sentence

a heartless boss who would fire people for missing work, even if they were sick as a dog a heartless enemy that takes no prisoners
Recent Examples on the Web Most media reports in 2015 painted Mukerjea as a heartless woman willing to sacrifice her emotions for the sake of power and money. Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024 The boys almost immediately encounter heartless human smugglers, who don’t even hit the brakes to slow down when a migrant is accidentally thrown from the back of a speeding, overloaded pickup truck. Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post, 20 Feb. 2024 Bill Murray stars as heartless TV exec Frank Cross, who is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve to show him the error of his wicked ways. Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 11 Jan. 2024 The heartless street reveals itself as a brimful dungeon to those who look. Jay Pilgreen, Kansas City Star, 12 Feb. 2024 This stunt may have been designed to show up the islanders as heartless liberals who talk a good game but don’t walk the walk. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2024 Unfortunately, our heartless, moronic Gov. Ron DeSantis chooses to deny hard-working Floridians a fair return on their taxes. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2024 And for these people that are heartless and speaking on my daughter's name, that's disgusting. Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 30 Dec. 2023 Yorgos Lanthimos’s new gothic romp, Poor Things, features a hilarious but heartless heroine. Madeleine Kearns, National Review, 16 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heartless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of heartless was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near heartless

Cite this Entry

“Heartless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heartless. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

heartless

adjective
heart·​less ˈhärt-ləs How to pronounce heartless (audio)
heartlessly adverb
heartlessness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on heartless

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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