as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
was so thick-skinned that she was clueless about the fact that the joke had hurt her friend's feelings
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Recent Examples of thick-skinned
The trunk, in the manner of succulent trees at large, is technically a caudex or thick-skinned water storage structure, which, in this case, is also the principal photosynthesizing or food-producing organ of the tree.
—
Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 20 Dec. 2025
Southerners like to use these thick-skinned grapes for preserves and wines.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2025
It is made from the thick-skinned Lambrusco di Grasparossa, whose high acid keeps the wine balanced and avoids its being cloyingly sweet from its 48 grams/liter residual sugar.
—John Mariani, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
The formidable thick-skinned, long-furred beast occupied the mammoth steppe, a cold-dry grassland biome that existed during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).
—Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 26 June 2024
Its small, thick-skinned berries make wine with strong tannins and high acidity, two components that aide in Cabernet Sauvignon’s ability to age.
—Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 28 Mar. 2024
Thousands of apple varieties—crunchy, thick-skinned Fujis, which originated in Japan in the 1930s; aromatic Galas; and rare Pink Pearls—exist in the world today, many of them bred for their distinct flavor, color and texture.
—Laura Kiniry, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Dec. 2023
Haley has chosen instead to cast herself as a fighter who happens to be a woman, someone thick-skinned yet self-aware.
—Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023
Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 20 Dec. 2025
Southerners like to use these thick-skinned grapes for preserves and wines.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2025
It is made from the thick-skinned Lambrusco di Grasparossa, whose high acid keeps the wine balanced and avoids its being cloyingly sweet from its 48 grams/liter residual sugar.
—John Mariani, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
The formidable thick-skinned, long-furred beast occupied the mammoth steppe, a cold-dry grassland biome that existed during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).
—Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 26 June 2024
Its small, thick-skinned berries make wine with strong tannins and high acidity, two components that aide in Cabernet Sauvignon’s ability to age.
—Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 28 Mar. 2024
Thousands of apple varieties—crunchy, thick-skinned Fujis, which originated in Japan in the 1930s; aromatic Galas; and rare Pink Pearls—exist in the world today, many of them bred for their distinct flavor, color and texture.
—Laura Kiniry, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Dec. 2023
Haley has chosen instead to cast herself as a fighter who happens to be a woman, someone thick-skinned yet self-aware.
—Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thick-skinned
Adjective
-
Grant me ruthless access to the psychological image, discomfortable mercy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
-
His new persona as a fighting moderate, a Democrat in tune with the country’s shifting desires and ruthless toward the man at the top, deftly speaks to the needs of a party desperate to regain the White House.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
In the film, Leonardo DiCaprio plays Bob Ferguson, a former revolutionary who must save his teenage daughter after she’s kidnapped by the merciless army officer, Colonel Lockjaw (played by Sean Penn).—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Iran’s attorney general has vowed to pursue merciless legal action against the latter, including the death penalty.—
Hira Humayun,
CNN Money,
12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Without prosecutors empowered to bring charges against wrongdoers, judges willing to strike down overreach, legislators daring enough to demand investigations and change laws, and citizens outraged enough to protest, any revelations by journalists will fall on stony ground.—
Susan Chira,
Foreign Affairs,
2 Dec. 2025
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After that historic journey, NASA charted a new course toward Apophis, a stony metal-rich NEA that offers a sharp scientific contrast to Bennu's carbon-rich composition (and was once thought to pose a serious impact risk to Earth).—
Samantha Mathewson,
Space.com,
28 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thick-skinned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thick-skinned. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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