1
as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
an affectless analysis of the cost of the war purely in pecuniary terms
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stoic
not feeling or showing emotion
the accused remained affectless throughout the long trial
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of affectless
Actually, Stone’s voiceover isn’t affectless.
—
Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Sep. 2022
The use of an A.I. program to replicate Warhol’s flat, affectless speech to read the diary entries had a strangely fitting logic.
—Steve Dollar, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2022
Skarsgård does well with the character’s daytime ambiguity (tight-faced, affectless) and nighttime plotting (observant, physically lithe).
—Vulture, 27 Apr. 2022
And the key to the mystery — not the solution to it but the dark center of it — is Swinton Byrne’s quiet, reserved, at times almost affectless performance.
—New York Times, 7 Dec. 2021
See All Example Sentences for affectless
Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Sep. 2022
The use of an A.I. program to replicate Warhol’s flat, affectless speech to read the diary entries had a strangely fitting logic.
—Steve Dollar, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2022
Skarsgård does well with the character’s daytime ambiguity (tight-faced, affectless) and nighttime plotting (observant, physically lithe).
—Vulture, 27 Apr. 2022
And the key to the mystery — not the solution to it but the dark center of it — is Swinton Byrne’s quiet, reserved, at times almost affectless performance.
—New York Times, 7 Dec. 2021
See All Example Sentences for affectless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for affectless
Adjective
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Typewriters, stationery, fine-art museums, the quintessential impressionist painter—these are all associated with taste, beauty, and craft, as well as with intentionality and care, the opposite of the ruthless technological efficiency that repels many from generative AI.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
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Even if the film doesn’t co-sign her ideology, Ursula is the most nuanced of the ruthless killers, and Gellar is adept at digging into the character’s ambiguity and shifting priorities.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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And even as his father stood stoic on the sideline, the arena felt the emotional weight of the moment.—
Rowan Fisher-Shotton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Mar. 2026
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And center Jake Slaughter was, well, as stoic as the All-American has ever been.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
And the bracket carnage was swift and merciless.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
20 Mar. 2026
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But the quagmire is made worse by the question of what audiences want in an age of abundant at-home entertainment options, tighter budgets and general fatigue from the merciless grind of modern life.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Except every movie tends to get five buckets, while the rest of their time curdles into Tim sharing too much about his personal life as Gregg stares on, his stony, Buster Keaton-like face saying nothing and everything.—
Christopher Borrelli,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Mar. 2026
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That same stony resistance stymied Henry’s next attempt at commercial success, a parasol with a snap-on cover that could be changed to match a woman’s outfit.—
Shoshi Parks,
Popular Science,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The food chain is in full and pitiless effect, and no one bats an eye, or side-eyes a bat, when natural predatory impulses kick in.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
6 Mar. 2026
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The scene offers a pitiless view of the sexism, and materialism, of the culture in which the girls were being raised.—
Mark Oppenheimer,
Vulture,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Affectless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affectless. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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