1
as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
gave the homeless people on the street only an unfeeling glance
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in numb
lacking in sensation or feeling
her heart was as cold and hard as the unfeeling marble statue in her garden
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in inanimate
lacking animate awareness or sensation
she spoke politely even to the unfeeling virtual assistant on her phone
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unfeeling
There’d be too much sympathy in watching this cookie get pulverized by unfeeling overlords.
—
Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026
For example, 1975’s Welfare carefully documents the hoops that working people had to jump through to obtain welfare benefits at New York’s Waverly Welfare Center, representing the government as an intractable and unfeeling force.
—Vikram Murthi, The Atlantic, 22 Feb. 2026
Al Pacino has a small but memorable role as Hall’s father, presented as so greedy and unfeeling as to force us to think that maybe Kiritsis had a legitimate axe to grind.
—Mick Lasalle, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Jan. 2026
The adversarial shapes work on humans, too—wearing thimbles to emulate the cold unfeeling steel of a robot and using two fingers in a pinching grasp, the researchers were able to verify that the objects were hard to pick up.
—IEEE Spectrum, 9 July 2019
See All Example Sentences for unfeeling
Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026
For example, 1975’s Welfare carefully documents the hoops that working people had to jump through to obtain welfare benefits at New York’s Waverly Welfare Center, representing the government as an intractable and unfeeling force.
—Vikram Murthi, The Atlantic, 22 Feb. 2026
Al Pacino has a small but memorable role as Hall’s father, presented as so greedy and unfeeling as to force us to think that maybe Kiritsis had a legitimate axe to grind.
—Mick Lasalle, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Jan. 2026
The adversarial shapes work on humans, too—wearing thimbles to emulate the cold unfeeling steel of a robot and using two fingers in a pinching grasp, the researchers were able to verify that the objects were hard to pick up.
—IEEE Spectrum, 9 July 2019
See All Example Sentences for unfeeling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfeeling
Adjective
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When a ruthless despot steals a billion-dollar fortune, the team is sent to steal it back on what would be for anyone else a suicide mission.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
14 May 2026
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Assayas offers anecdotes, a feuilleton of tyranny in which the foibles of the mighty and the ruthless reveal the sentimental side of cruelty, the amusement value of ugly deeds, and the polite side of monstrous ideas.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
13 May 2026
Adjective
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The steering, however, is numb and the handling is competent but uninspiring.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
2 May 2026
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Wayans also experienced foot pain, numb toes, delirium and blurry vision.—
Samantha Agate,
Kansas City Star,
1 May 2026
Adjective
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But there are inanimate pets in the cemetery.—
Jennie Key,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
31 Mar. 2026
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On the morning after the hurricane, these objects revert to their inanimate status quo—but the deviation has been recorded, as fiction.—
Hannah Gold,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Ron White, Joe DeRosa, and Tony’s number one favorite comic, Tony Hinchcliffe (played by Adam Ray), showed the crowd exactly what effortless and absolutely merciless veteran comedy looks like.—
Malina Saval,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
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Development in the Dotte 🪠 Fish or human feces often wash up in KCK homes during those merciless spring rains.—
Sofi Zeman,
Kansas City Star,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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When Bill’s older brother Henry (Barry Ward) finds the pianist in numbed solitude in his dingy apartment, Bill has canceled all his upcoming gigs, saying Scotty cannot be replaced.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
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Ingber also notes the numbed response to these strikes from much of the American public, something that, in part, may come from the routine nature of these drone strikes as something that the nation has become desensitized to dropping bombs on enemies.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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En route, dispatchers advised that the motorcyclist was unconscious and receiving CPR.—
Aurora Beacon-News,
Chicago Tribune,
11 May 2026
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Hamilton was found on the floor of her bedroom unconscious, bound at the wrists with a phone charging cord wrapped tightly around her neck and mouth, which prompted a homicide investigation.—
Adam Thompson,
CBS News,
11 May 2026
Adjective
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These conditions often yield mezcals with a savory backbone and a dry, stony finish.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2026
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In a vast stony tract of desert a three-hour drive south of Cairo, tucked between jagged black mountains and the glittering Gulf of Suez, a group of Chinese engineers is quietly rewiring Egypt’s energy strategy.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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But the underlying mechanism is well-established — a landmark 1999 study in Nature found foot vasodilation was the single strongest physiological predictor of how quickly someone falls asleep.—
Allison Palmer,
Kansas City Star,
12 May 2026
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Guests are encouraged to fall asleep during the session — making rest itself the treatment.—
Hanna Wickes,
Miami Herald,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unfeeling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfeeling. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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