compassionless

adjective

Definition of compassionlessnext
as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings shocked by the mother's compassionless treatment of her autistic child

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compassionless
  1. ruthless
  2. merciless
  3. stony
Adjective
  • She is described as brusque, cantankerous, ruthless — and also a killer.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Such ruthless prioritization produced some admirable results.
    — Julianne Smith, Foreign Affairs, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of ruthless
Adjective
  • The book’s humor is sharp and merciless, akin to that of a standup comedy show, and yet the things described are far from funny.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Cora, the granddaughter of a woman kidnapped from West Africa and sold into slavery, flees her captor’s plantation, plunging her into the book’s alternate steampunk reality where she is pursued by the merciless slave catcher Ridgeway.
    — David Faris, TheWeek, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of merciless
Adjective
  • Oscar Wilde, for example, reposes beneath a hulking deity whose iconoclastic castration, back in 1961, did little to restrain pilgrims seeking to smear red lips across his stony physique.
    — Emily Cox, ARTnews.com, 22 May 2026
  • Instead of looking like a sleek urban loft, the room can quickly start to feel cold, stony, and impersonal.
    — Natasha Bazika, Martha Stewart, 9 May 2026
Definition of stony

Browse Nearby Words

compassionating
compassionless
compatibilities
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Cite this Entry

“Compassionless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compassionless. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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