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
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Recent Examples of desensitized
Although today’s audiences might be more desensitized to such gruesome scenes thanks to hyperrealistic special effects in modern horror movies, and the commonplace spread of graphic clips online, audiences of the ‘80s were reportedly traumatized and scandalized.
—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Apr. 2026
While the effects of violent media on viewers are notoriously hard to study, some evidence suggests that some audiences can become desensitized to the real-world consequences of unhealthy and violent content.
—
Cynthia Chris,
The Conversation,
19 Feb. 2026
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Apr. 2026
While the effects of violent media on viewers are notoriously hard to study, some evidence suggests that some audiences can become desensitized to the real-world consequences of unhealthy and violent content.
—
Cynthia Chris,
The Conversation,
19 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desensitized
Adjective
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Canadian quartet Truck Violence have been sloshing together these subgenres in a ruthless manner for several years now, and their sophomore album and debut for the Flenser aims for even higher drops between those peaks and valleys.
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There was relative peace for 11 years, until a second civil war erupted in 1983, when leaders in Khartoum imposed sharia (Islamic) law and accelerated repression of the southern Christian rebels, which ultimately allowed a ruthless military officer, Omar al-Bashir, to come to power in 1989.
Adjective
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The poem that precedes it, the Iliad, is a cruel and beautiful work, the ultimate story of war; the Odyssey has its warlike passages, but its central energies seem almost commonplace beside the merciless fury of Achilles.
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Humility is the posture; the standard is merciless.
Adjective
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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.
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Instead of looking like a sleek urban loft, the room can quickly start to feel cold, stony, and impersonal.
Adjective
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Frankly, its terribly insensitive to hold a press conference while the man is dying.
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White has defended the event against critics, including those who have called it insensitive or unsafe to host a fight at the White House during a war.
Adjective
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To its left-wing voter base, Labour seemed callous.
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Watching the movie and Marcel’s fragile belief in a world so callous is to feel a surge of possibility for humanity.
Adjective
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The Atlas Lions also frustrated their Scottish foes with their physicality, taking down Christie, McTominay and others with a series of hard challenges that did not draw whistles.
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The Cardinals had rallied for three runs in the ninth, and Jose Fermin hit a hard grounder to Tolbert’s left.
Cite this Entry
“Desensitized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desensitized. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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