as in heartlessness
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of callousness
There’s another nice juxtaposition in this episode, this time highlighting Robby’s callousness.
—
Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2026
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
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
Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2026
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
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 coldness of the water constricts arteries, requiring the heart to work harder than normal to function.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
14 Apr. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
The majority reported being treated rudely by providers, insensitivity regarding modesty requirements, or having their pain disregarded.—
Anisah Bagasra,
The Conversation,
17 Apr. 2026
-
For Bravo, race has always been that lingering chink in its armor — and the latest burgeoning Summer House drama threatens to continue to chip away at the network’s feeble defense against claims of racial insensitivity.—
Shamira Ibrahim,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 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
-
All the surface performance tests – ball bounce, rotational resistance and surface hardness – on these eight carpets also met FIFA standards.—
Ryan Bearss,
The Conversation,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Another method is to perform a soil hardness test.—
Nora Doonan,
Hartford Courant,
4 Apr. 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
-
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 26 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
