coldheartedness

noun

as in heartlessness

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for coldheartedness
  1. heartlessness
  2. callousness
  3. indifference
  4. hard-heartedness
  5. cruelty
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
Definition of heartlessness
Noun
  • The boys’ callousness quickly turned to disgust, their contempt steadily aimed at Neil.
    — S. M. Reznik, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Vicki brushes it off, and even Shannon can’t defend her friend’s callousness.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of callousness
Noun
  • On Monday, Boulder police said 18-year-old Omar Perez of Thornton, Colorado, was arrested on Monday morning and charged with first-degree murder with extreme indifference and assault in the first-degree with extreme indifference.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The goal is pure pleasure, not a statement or message; the worst-case scenario is indifference or mild disappointment—not, say, horror at your fundamental misunderstanding of a long-standing personal relationship.
    — Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of indifference
Noun
  • Tarr's reputation for films tinged with misery and hard-heartedness, distinguished by black-and-white cinematography and unusually long sequences, only grew throughout the 1990s and 2000s, particularly after his 1994 film Sátántangó.
    — Alina Edwards, NPR, 6 Jan. 2026
Definition of hard-heartedness
Noun
  • Orange County prosecutors also charged Nguyen with animal cruelty and animal abuse by a caretaker, both felonies, and a sentencing enhancement alleging the personal use of a weapon.
    — Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2026
  • What readers are saying The comments express outrage and sadness over the cruelty inflicted on kittens, with many calling for harsher penalties for animal abuse.
    — Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 31 Oct. 2026
Definition of cruelty
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.

Browse Nearby Words

coldhearted
coldheartedness
coldish
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Cite this Entry

“Coldheartedness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coldheartedness. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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