as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
a hard-hearted brush-off to a homeless man asking for money
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Recent Examples of hard-hearted
Yet the very readiness with which the hard-hearted General Tilney believes this account suggests that he is used to reliable reports of other people’s wealth.
—
Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2025
That makes perfect sense to all but the closed-minded or hard-hearted.
—Jim Newton, Mercury News, 27 June 2025
And each registered the other’s contention with the hard-hearted energy of her own physical craving.
—Jim Shepard, New Yorker, 8 June 2025
Joel, a hard-hearted smuggler, and Ellie, a headstrong teenager immune to the fungal pandemic that’s decimated the planet.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 5 Mar. 2025
Linda finds her own therapist (Conan O’Brien) insufferably hard-hearted; one of her own patients (Danielle Macdonald) gets ignored in a moment of crisis; a man named James (A$AP Rocky), the super at the motel, befriends her but gets little to show for it but insult and injury.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2025
The hard-hearted treatment of men is on full display throughout Cecot.
—David Culver, CNN, 6 Nov. 2024
In the face of such terror, even hard-hearted Sam has to crumble.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 27 June 2024
Technically Shaw is a mercenary, but not a cynical or hard-hearted one.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 11 Feb. 2024
Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2025
That makes perfect sense to all but the closed-minded or hard-hearted.
—Jim Newton, Mercury News, 27 June 2025
And each registered the other’s contention with the hard-hearted energy of her own physical craving.
—Jim Shepard, New Yorker, 8 June 2025
Joel, a hard-hearted smuggler, and Ellie, a headstrong teenager immune to the fungal pandemic that’s decimated the planet.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 5 Mar. 2025
Linda finds her own therapist (Conan O’Brien) insufferably hard-hearted; one of her own patients (Danielle Macdonald) gets ignored in a moment of crisis; a man named James (A$AP Rocky), the super at the motel, befriends her but gets little to show for it but insult and injury.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2025
The hard-hearted treatment of men is on full display throughout Cecot.
—David Culver, CNN, 6 Nov. 2024
In the face of such terror, even hard-hearted Sam has to crumble.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 27 June 2024
Technically Shaw is a mercenary, but not a cynical or hard-hearted one.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 11 Feb. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-hearted
Adjective
-
Tracey recalls how her ruthless daughter sought revenge on her father, classmates and Laura.—
Erin Jensen,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
-
In the epic Emperor Kisra (Kingsley) has a reputation for being utterly ruthless.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
If Hollow Knight was demanding, Silksong is merciless.—
Keller Gordon,
NPR,
8 Sep. 2025
-
In 1918, Bolshevik secret police forced Anastasia Romanov and her imperial family into a damp basement to face a merciless firing squad.—
Ashlee Conour,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hard-hearted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-hearted. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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