as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
shocked by the mother's compassionless treatment of her autistic child
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Recent Examples of compassionless
Oscar and Birdie’s oily son Leo (a perceptive Christian Cooper) seems headed in the direction of his father, with his compassionless attitude toward life.
—
Oline Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2026
Oline Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compassionless
Adjective
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There’s also just one overwhelming evil force in this play — the Nazis — whereas Dumas had his musketeers fighting not just ruthless government officials but royalty, religious leaders and nobles.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
11 Mar. 2026
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With a lesser interpreter in the role, Eva might have read more reductively as just a ruthless bureaucratic leader.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In between, the Ball Arena patrons were merciless in their jeering of the officials.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
11 Mar. 2026
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Against some audiences’ will, Ari Aster’s merciless black comedy drags us back to May 2020 when tempers, temperatures and misinformation were heating up across America.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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With a 15 percent slope and soils consisting of shattered rock and very stony loam with a small percentage of clay, the soil is low in organic matter and drains extremely well.—
Mike DeSimone,
Robb Report,
22 Feb. 2026
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The sculptor, David Adickes, was an Army veteran who'd wanted his stony visages to gleam.—
Danielle Paquette The Washington Post,
Arkansas Online,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Compassionless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compassionless. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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