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
-
Serenity Maggie’s (and Sweet Magnolias‘) trip to New York was cut short as Season 5 offered a juxtaposition between small-town values and ruthless big-city corporate culture.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
11 June 2026
-
Ruffalo will voice Nero, a scrappy black cat, and Fishburne will play Rocco, a ruthless cat mob boss.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
The jokes on social media will be endless, and opposing fans will be merciless.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
20 May 2026
-
The show was merciless with its satirical barbs against top government officials and current events, just as its parent company Paramount Skydance has pushed to acquire Warner Bros Discovery.—
Erik Pedersen,
Deadline,
19 May 2026
Adjective
-
High Street began to slope upward, and the terrain became stonier around the sides of the road as Revere and his horse, Brown Beauty, ascended Rock Hill.—
Kostya Kennedy,
Time,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
This is due to the physiology of the eye, more specifically, the fact that the color sensors on the retina — the cones — are insensitive to faint light.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
11 June 2026
-
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.—
Conor Murray,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
Madonna hunts pheasant in the English countryside, Thomas Edison electrocutes an elephant, Harry Harlow conducts callous experiments on monkeys, and Jimmy Carter fends off a swamp rabbit attack.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
-
This is a distortion of the law, and a display of callous indifference to the tragedies that moved Congress to pass the Refugee Act.—
Elizabeth Holtzman,
Time,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
There is plenty of hard work still to be done, but the raw ingredients are invariably on show to at least some degree.—
Rob Tanner,
New York Times,
12 Dec. 2025
-
No one wants to see your cheesy hard launch or romantic weekend upstate on Instagram anymore.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
11 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desensitized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desensitized. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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