heartlessly

adverb

as in ruthlessly

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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 heartlessly Victim Nyron Shaw’s father said the driver who mowed his son down last year in Ocean Hill a day before Independence Day should face the maximum penalty for allegedly driving twice the speed limit and heartlessly taking off, leaving his son to die. — Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 8 Apr. 2026 In the process, Joel heartlessly killed some innocent people, including medical professionals. — EW.com, 26 Aug. 2025 There is a troubling suggestion of abuse, implying that Jack might have been ill-treated by his mom (and saved by Helen), rather than heartlessly abandoned. — Tomris Laffly, Variety, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartlessly
  1. ruthlessly
  2. mercilessly
  3. callously
  4. pitilessly
  5. unmercifully
  6. inhumanely
  7. insensitively
  8. inhumanly
Adverb
  • This summer will not repeat the last, where 14 new players arrived at a cost of £170million ($228m) to ruthlessly overhaul a promotion-winning squad.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • But when the swirl of events beyond their control caught them into something immeasurably larger than a single game of soccer, not even the strength of their new mentality was enough to prevent them from being ruthlessly swept away.
    — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 7 July 2026
Definition of ruthlessly
Adverb
  • Despite her clear influence, Rico was mercilessly heckled by Carti fans during her performance at the Portland tour stop.
    — Mehan Jayasuriya, Pitchfork, 24 July 2026
  • Long pants in summer may not be at the top of your shopping list, but this set is so handy (and polished) for travel days or times in the office when the AC is mercilessly blasting.
    — Annie Blackman, InStyle, 23 July 2026
Definition of mercilessly
Adverb
  • Conventional wisdom callously had it that audiences might never return, especially after the pandemic in 2020 was followed in short order in 2023 by two prolonged industrywide strikes.
    — Adam Aron, Variety, 29 July 2026
  • The department was known to operate callously, firing people by email or locking them out of buildings.
    — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026
Definition of callously
Adverb
  • The first hour, set at a resort that’s like a singles cruise through the Twilight Zone (or Bachelor in Paradise beamed in from a brutal alternate universe), contains some of the most pitilessly funny scenes of the filmmaker’s career.
    — A.A. Dowd, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Definition of pitilessly
Adverb
  • Any party member who seeks to defy his wishes risks losing a seat, being unmercifully gaslit, or trashed on Truth Social.
    — Rob Crilly, The Washington Examiner, 22 May 2026
  • Now my son is dead after suffering unmercifully.
    — Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 6 Feb. 2026
Definition of unmercifully
Adverb
  • In May 2025, the zoo posted a video of authorities taking a giraffe and accused them of seizing it inhumanely.
    — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 22 June 2026
  • The complaints also allege the 37 people detained were taken to the Broadview ICE detention center where they were treated inhumanely.
    — Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 13 May 2026
Definition of inhumanely
Adverb
  • Residents were treated carelessly, disrespectfully, insensitively.
    — Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2026
  • In this volatile environment, comments that appear to minimize or frame the shooting insensitively—like Matt Gutman's—can quickly become career-ending.
    — Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
Definition of insensitively
Adverb
  • For her next project, she’s headed as far from there as humanly (or inhumanly) possible.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 24 June 2026
Definition of inhumanly

Browse Nearby Words

heartless
heartlessly
heartlessness
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Cite this Entry

“Heartlessly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartlessly. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026.

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