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
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
Thankfully, the lake is ideal for thick-skinned lesser flamingos who visit the spot to put on weight before finding their mates.
—Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023
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
Thankfully, the lake is ideal for thick-skinned lesser flamingos who visit the spot to put on weight before finding their mates.
—Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thick-skinned
Adjective
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Those hoping to snatch a home in this busy period faced limited options on the market, as the country’s developers had chronically underbuilt compared to demand in the years following the subprime mortgage crisis, leading to ruthless bidding wars and climbing home values.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
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Hedda orchestrates a ruthless game of manipulation, where lust, jealousy and betrayal collide.—
Patrick Hipes,
Deadline,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Just clean, merciless, fundamental football.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Chat members were merciless in their rhetoric against fellow Young Republicans in competing factions of the organization.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The images show thousands of homes turned to stony wreckage, green fields turned to dust, the veins of the city’s old roadways still visible.—
Freddie Clayton,
NBC news,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Give her the chance to play pathos, and Squibb can crack your stony heart in half.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
24 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thick-skinned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thick-skinned. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
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