as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
having lived through the horrors of war, the soldiers had seemingly become desensitized to virtually all human suffering
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desensitized
Adjective
-
Tracey recalls how her ruthless daughter sought revenge on her father, classmates and Laura.—
Erin Jensen,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025 -
In the epic Emperor Kisra (Kingsley) has a reputation for being utterly ruthless.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
If Hollow Knight was demanding, Silksong is merciless.—
Keller Gordon,
NPR,
8 Sep. 2025
-
In 1918, Bolshevik secret police forced Anastasia Romanov and her imperial family into a damp basement to face a merciless firing squad.—
Ashlee Conour,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, some people have been losing their jobs due to their insensitive remarks about Kirk, who was a father of two and a husband.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The Carolina Panthers have fired an employee in the team’s communications department due to an insensitive social media post about the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah, a source familiar with the team’s decision said Thursday.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Consider how closed captioning, originally developed for deaf and hard-of-hearing users, now benefits millions in noisy environments or when audio isn't available.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Just hard to think that’ll happen coming off the Jacksonville blowout.—
Mike Kaye,
Charlotte Observer,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Tennant costars in The Thursday Murder Club as Ian Ventham, the callous, money-hungry co-owner of Coopers Chase.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
28 Aug. 2025
-
The New Yorker’s Talk writer was similarly blinkered and callous, treating Grey like a consenting partner and Chaplin as a dual victim, of his mother-in-law’s venality and of Middle America’s moral prejudices.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Desensitized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desensitized. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share