as in heartlessness
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Recent Examples of callousness
The killing in the woods of Knoxville demonstrated a brutality and callousness rarely seen in a woman, let alone one so young.
—
Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 21 Mar. 2026
The callousness of the jokes might just make the horror that much more unsettling.
—Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2026
Kroshunov's daughter, Ilana Korshunov, expressed shock at the callousness of the driver.
—Anders Hagstrom, FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026
That means uprooting institutionalized callousness and redefining what counts as efficiency, innovation and value.
—Valerie L. Myers, The Conversation, 8 Jan. 2026
The ego, the hardness, the … callousness of anything that might be on the heart or the mind had literally just melted away.
—Kelsie Hoffman, CBS News, 5 Jan. 2026
And yet, there is this streak — more than a streak — of brutality and of callousness and of cruelty.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Dec. 2025
While these remain allegations until proven in court, the evidence reflects an extraordinary level of callousness and violence.
—Jon Haworth, ABC News, 3 Dec. 2025
Soft, quiet songs emerged as antidotes to cruelty and callousness.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025
Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 21 Mar. 2026
The callousness of the jokes might just make the horror that much more unsettling.
—Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2026
Kroshunov's daughter, Ilana Korshunov, expressed shock at the callousness of the driver.
—Anders Hagstrom, FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026
That means uprooting institutionalized callousness and redefining what counts as efficiency, innovation and value.
—Valerie L. Myers, The Conversation, 8 Jan. 2026
The ego, the hardness, the … callousness of anything that might be on the heart or the mind had literally just melted away.
—Kelsie Hoffman, CBS News, 5 Jan. 2026
And yet, there is this streak — more than a streak — of brutality and of callousness and of cruelty.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Dec. 2025
While these remain allegations until proven in court, the evidence reflects an extraordinary level of callousness and violence.
—Jon Haworth, ABC News, 3 Dec. 2025
Soft, quiet songs emerged as antidotes to cruelty and callousness.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for callousness
Noun
-
These young graduates start out naive about the heartlessness of the corporate world and harbor illusory hopes for success in unforgiving professions.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2026
-
The lives of the two children in the story, aged fourteen and four, are portrayed as being as fleeting as the fireflies, and the story is an unsentimental and unflinching account with moments of both tenderness and heartlessness.—
Ginny Tapley Takemori
September 4,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The song has said everything that Ines can’t bring herself to, and her coldness chips away in the days and weeks that follow.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Some of it has to do with the coldness of the skin.—
Stephanie Innes,
AZCentral.com,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Hicks, meanwhile, is facing allegations from Democratic candidates of bullying, elitism and racial insensitivity.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Mar. 2026
-
One flashpoint came after comments related to standardized testing sparked accusations of racial insensitivity.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
The Washington Examiner,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
China has gained, not suffered, from this obduracy.—
JONATHAN A. CZIN,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Nov. 2025
-
Related: ‘Neglected diseases’ are anything but neglected by the billion-plus people living with them One possible reason for this obduracy is that noma begins as a dental disease, and dental diseases have long been underappreciated global health concerns.—
John Button,
STAT,
16 Dec. 2023
Noun
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Experts recommend descaling every one to three months, depending on water hardness, and suggest preventative measures like occasional hot cycles, using the correct detergent amount, and regular wiping of machine parts.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
14 Mar. 2026
-
The Liquefy choice offers a dedicated interface with control over brush size, hardness, opacity, ramp type (Gaussian, Linear, and several more), and speed.—
Michael Muchmore,
PC Magazine,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The 17-year-old mother, named for a callosity near her blowhole that looks like a snow cone, no longer had the same girth or the dark black skin of a healthy right whale.—
David Abel,
BostonGlobe.com,
30 Sep. 2022
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The callosity patterns, like fingerprints, are unique to each whale, allowing researchers who have pored over whale catalogue photos to recognize plenty in the wild.—
Dino Grandoni,
Anchorage Daily News,
22 Apr. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Callousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/callousness. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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