Synonyms of thick-skinned

thick-skinned

adjective

ˈthik-ˌskind 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ruthless
• merciless
• stony
• hard
• tough
• insensitive
• harsh
• callous
• obdurate
• abusive
• pitiless
• hard-hearted
• unsympathetic
• heartless
• stern
• compassionless
• hateful
• oppressive
• cruel
• malicious
• brutal
• unmerciful
• vicious
• take-no-prisoners
• remorseless
• uncharitable
• unfeeling
• unsparing
• soulless
• pachydermatous
• indurate
• cold-blooded
• hard-boiled
• inhuman
• insensate
• inhumane
• grim
• severe
• case-hardened
• affectless
• desensitized
• slash-and-burn
• savage
• boorish
• ironhearted
• thoughtless
• inconsiderate
• mean
• rough
• stonyhearted
• uncaring
• unfriendly
• spiteful
• unthinking
• disagreeable
• virulent
• heedless
• surly
• rough-and-tumble
• ungentle
• unloving
• ill-natured
• acrimonious
• hard-bitten
• heavy-handed
• malevolent
• brutish
• ill-tempered
• cold
• ironfisted
• ironhanded
• rancorous
• jackbooted
• sledgehammer
• evil-minded
• bestial
• barbarous
• austere
• frosty
• knock-down, drag-out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sensitive
• sympathetic
• warm
• compassionate
• gentle
• merciful
• charitable
• humane
• kind
• kindly
• mild
• benevolent
• tender
• kindhearted
• lenient
• softhearted
• friendly
• tenderhearted
• gracious
• warmhearted
• indulgent
• cordial
• tolerant
• benignant
• good-natured
• affectionate
• loving
• good-tempered
• understanding
• clement
• fond

Example Sentences

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