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

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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
  • Regehr was relentless and merciless, and Oilers fans had to witness it over and over again.
    — Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 25 July 2026
  • The red card was rescinded; the team was unmoored; conspiracies grew overnight, like mushrooms; and a merciless Belgium swept in and trampled, 4–1, on what remained.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
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
  • The callous economist would say, Well, food prices are really not going up that much faster than anything else.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 22 July 2026
  • Although humanity’s salvation may appear to come in fits and starts, God’s healing influence always penetrates and gets through callous self-righteousness and indifference.
    — Mark Swinney, Christian Science Monitor, 21 July 2026
Definition of callous
Adjective
  • Not play-act, but do the real work, make the hard and noble choices, not forsake his vows but live by them.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
  • Adding another employee, buying a new piece of equipment, or expanding into a larger space all become harder when the tax code penalizes those investments.
    — Kent Strang, Boston Herald, 26 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 27 Jul. 2026.

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