Synonyms of callous

callous

adjective

ˈka-ləs 

as in ruthless

having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings

the callous comment "It's just a fish," when the boy's pet died, made him cry

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ruthless
• merciless
• stony
• heartless
• hard
• abusive
• insensitive
• cruel
• pitiless
• unfeeling
• hateful
• compassionless
• oppressive
• harsh
• inhumane
• malicious
• brutal
• inhuman
• hard-hearted
• remorseless
• unsympathetic
• uncharitable
• soulless
• vicious
• stern
• insensate
• unmerciful
• grim
• obdurate
• tough
• cold-blooded
• unsparing
• desensitized
• indurate
• thick-skinned
• affectless
• slash-and-burn
• uncaring
• take-no-prisoners
• thoughtless
• hard-boiled
• severe
• pachydermatous
• savage
• inconsiderate
• case-hardened
• unthinking
• boorish
• mean
• rough
• unloving
• spiteful
• ironhearted
• unfriendly
• heedless
• stonyhearted
• ungentle
• malevolent
• disagreeable
• cold
• virulent
• surly
• heavy-handed
• brutish
• barbarous
• bestial
• acrimonious
• rough-and-tumble
• ill-natured
• jackbooted
• rancorous
• ironfisted
• hard-bitten
• evil-minded
• sledgehammer
• ironhanded
• ill-tempered
• austere
• frosty
• knock-down, drag-out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sympathetic
• warm
• sensitive
• charitable
• compassionate
• merciful
• humane
• gentle
• kindly
• benevolent
• kind
• tender
• mild
• lenient
• indulgent
• kindhearted
• softhearted
• friendly
• gracious
• tenderhearted
• warmhearted
• cordial
• benignant
• tolerant
• loving
• affectionate
• good-natured
• understanding
• fond
• clement
• good-tempered

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of callous

Kantor expresses an empathy for young people that the more callous of this year’s graduation speakers seemed to lack. — Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 15 June 2026

Madonna hunts pheasant in the English countryside, Thomas Edison electrocutes an elephant, Harry Harlow conducts callous experiments on monkeys, and Jimmy Carter fends off a swamp rabbit attack. — Literary Hub, 9 June 2026

This is a distortion of the law, and a display of callous indifference to the tragedies that moved Congress to pass the Refugee Act. — Elizabeth Holtzman, Time, 9 June 2026

Then Sunday night’s series finale brought it all to an abrupt, patchwork, and brutally callous end. — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 2 June 2026

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