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
Human failings amidst an unfeeling snowpocalypse make for some engaging scenes.
—
Ars Technica, 22 Dec. 2024
The author renders the four-year-old Margaret’s inner life with sensitive complexity, depicting an alert child logic that defies adults’ view of her as slow and unfeeling.
—The New Yorker, 12 June 2024
That’s because for decades, reptiles have been characterized as cold, unfeeling, and even primitive creatures.
—Lily Carey, Discover Magazine, 8 Apr. 2024
But as the film unspools and Agent Smith comes face to face with Neo and his master Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), Weaving begins showing signs that this AI is not so unfeeling, not so unbothered after all.
—Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for unfeeling
Ars Technica, 22 Dec. 2024
The author renders the four-year-old Margaret’s inner life with sensitive complexity, depicting an alert child logic that defies adults’ view of her as slow and unfeeling.
—The New Yorker, 12 June 2024
That’s because for decades, reptiles have been characterized as cold, unfeeling, and even primitive creatures.
—Lily Carey, Discover Magazine, 8 Apr. 2024
But as the film unspools and Agent Smith comes face to face with Neo and his master Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), Weaving begins showing signs that this AI is not so unfeeling, not so unbothered after all.
—Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for unfeeling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfeeling
Adjective
-
With war looming and chaos consuming the kingdom — drawing in the ruthless kings of other Scandinavian countries and even a powerful English ruler — the stage is set for a thundering, cataclysmic and utterly magical new Norse saga.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
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The company is famous for its creative but ruthless approach to cost cutting.—
Patrick George,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Muir’s head had slammed onto a shallow sandbar, his body instantly going numb.—
Laylan Connelly,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Penile-inversion surgery is rumored to render the tissue numb.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Many people backed his daughter because there was a dog outside in a way, while others acknowledge how creepy that inanimate face could be to a child.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
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Thin bony fingers as inanimate as dry cigarette papers.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
16 July 2025
Adjective
-
The novel intertwines present-day events with painful memories of the lives of her parents, who tried to protect their love from war, jealousy, and the cruelty of the merciless Soviet government.—
Nelly Klos
September 29,
Literary Hub,
29 Sep. 2025
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In the present day, Lockjaw reenters Bob and Willa’s lives with merciless force, deploying troops from his immigration taskforce on Baktan Cross, the sanctuary city where Bob and Willa have been laying low in the 16 years since Pat became Bob and baby Charlene, Willa, as the two went on the lam.—
Rory Doherty,
Time,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Another person in the room took over on the phone and agreed to let the call-taker know verbally each time the unconscious student’s chest rose.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Four people were pulled from the Sonata, including the 35-year-old woman and 2-year-old girl, who were both unconscious and not breathing.—
Jillian Frankel,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Give her the chance to play pathos, and Squibb can crack your stony heart in half.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
24 Sep. 2025
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According to the Earth Impact Effects Program calculator, developed by Imperial College in London, U.K., a stony asteroid the size of 2025 FA22 could cause a crater 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) wide.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Amina blows her mom a kiss and then flops down in her crib, pretending to be asleep.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
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Hall of Fame basketball player Paul Pierce was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of driving under the influence after being found asleep behind the wheel of an SUV on a Los Angeles highway, according to the California Highway Patrol.—
David Carrillo Peñaloza,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The brain, like other internal organs, is insensate, its lack of sensory receptors attested by videos of virtuoso violinists who play on unfazed as neurosurgeons go to work inside their skulls.—
Matthew Ponsford,
WIRED,
19 Sep. 2024
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But states have used midazolam alone — and at much higher doses — in executions since 2013, claiming the drug will render people insensate to pain before the administration of other lethal injection drugs.—
Lauren Gill,
ProPublica,
29 Apr. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Unfeeling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfeeling. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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