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

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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 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
  • Models are ruthless in their pursuit of a goal, sometimes taking disastrous shortcuts.
    — Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 22 July 2026
  • Ticketing was a ruthless game of revenue maximization, and the final became a stage for Madonna and Justin Bieber.
    — Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 21 July 2026
Definition of ruthless
Adjective
  • The red card was rescinded; the team was unmoored; conspiracies grew overnight, like mushrooms; and a merciless Belgium swept in and trampled, 4–1, on what remained.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 17 July 2026
  • Soon enough, Karl’s seemingly foolproof blackmail scheme devolves into a merciless, dog-eat-dog fight for survival, and the two men are locked in a cutthroat collision course, their fates now inextricably linked.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 15 July 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
  • These remarks were seen by many as insensitive, especially in a country where youth unemployment remains stubbornly high.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
  • Some readers are moving away from Seuss because of racist and insensitive illustrations in Geisel’s books and cartoons.
    — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 11 July 2026
Definition of insensitive
Adjective
  • Trump’s proponents may argue these definitions are ageing, and precedents have been set in recent years that leave the battlefield a wholly more callous place.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 17 July 2026
  • These structures were regionally and culturally inspired, and largely destroyed during rapid and callous colonization.
    — Elizabeth Fazzare, Architectural Digest, 4 July 2026
Definition of callous
Adjective
  • Essentially a rock has met a hard place – at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.
    — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
  • Remember, all this hard work to discover all these things has been done in the midst of designing a ballroom, cleaning up the reflecting pool and a host of other busy things the president and his administration have been doing.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 July 2026
Definition of hard

Browse Nearby Words

deselects
desensitized
desert
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Cite this Entry

“Desensitized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desensitized. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

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