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
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Recent Examples of callous
Some statements appeared callous in the wake of his death, while others appeared to celebrate his assassination, according to school officials.
—
Deena Zaru, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2025
Tennant costars in The Thursday Murder Club as Ian Ventham, the callous, money-hungry co-owner of Coopers Chase.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 28 Aug. 2025
The New Yorker’s Talk writer was similarly blinkered and callous, treating Grey like a consenting partner and Chaplin as a dual victim, of his mother-in-law’s venality and of Middle America’s moral prejudices.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Putting Laguna Beach with north county teams in Century Conference was callous.
—Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for callous
Deena Zaru, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2025
Tennant costars in The Thursday Murder Club as Ian Ventham, the callous, money-hungry co-owner of Coopers Chase.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 28 Aug. 2025
The New Yorker’s Talk writer was similarly blinkered and callous, treating Grey like a consenting partner and Chaplin as a dual victim, of his mother-in-law’s venality and of Middle America’s moral prejudices.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Putting Laguna Beach with north county teams in Century Conference was callous.
—Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for callous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for callous
Adjective
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The ruthless conglomerate's logo, base, ships, and equipment are featured throughout the film, in addition to the synths themselves.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Nov. 2025
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Earlier stories in that newspaper described López Torres as a ruthless trafficker who has killed dozens and was earlier aligned with Colombia’s right-wing paramilitary forces, known as the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or the Spanish acronym AUC.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Following the deaths of his brother William (Felix Kammerer) and his sister-in-law Elizabeth (Mia Goth), Victor vows vengeance on the Creature and dedicates the rest of his life to a merciless pursuit of him.—
Yasmeen Hamadeh,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
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The book, which is from Australia, follows Bee and her fellow runaways, who discover a new friend, Paco, is a Lost Boy from Neverland who needs them to fight hordes of pirates led by a merciless new leader.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Needless to say, the sanctions, Trump’s criticism of Putin and the cancelation of in-person talks, elicited a stony silence from Moscow on Thursday.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
23 Oct. 2025
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Madewell Crewneck Cutaway Vest A stony tan vest might just be the sleeper hit of the season.—
Rosie Marder,
Travel + Leisure,
18 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Callous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/callous. Accessed 21 Nov. 2025.
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