desensitized

adjective

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

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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desensitized
  1. ruthless
  2. merciless
  3. stony
  4. insensitive
  5. callous
  6. hard
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
Adjective
  • Kothari subsequently apologized, calling his language inappropriate and insensitive.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Three of the soccer players, including Yang Min-hyuk, who assisted the winning goal against Japan, made comments that were viewed as insensitive.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of insensitive
Adjective
  • Who would want the callous world that successfully cloistered the feelings of others?
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • What a simultaneously callous and graceful way to send off an audience that has spent the last hour falling in love.
    — Walden Green, Pitchfork, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of callous
Adjective
  • Two innings later, the Dodgers took the lead again, rewarded for hard contact as the Brewers’ defense showed its first signs of sloppy play.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Games Can’t Gamble on Talent Opportunities to develop emerging talent are becoming harder to find, particularly in video games, van Beek said.
    — Callum McLennan, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of hard

Browse Nearby Words

deselects
desensitized
desert
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Desensitized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desensitized. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of syncretic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All