UN-FEELINGNESSES Synonyms: 149 Similar and Opposite Words

unfeeling

adjective

ˌən-ˈfē-liŋ

Definition of unfeeling

as in ruthless

having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings gave the homeless people on the street only an unfeeling glance

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

as in inanimate

lacking animate awareness or sensation she spoke politely even to the unfeeling virtual assistant on her phone

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of unfeeling This savage, amoral and unfeeling Robin Hood has been written to invert everything modern fans like about him. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2026 As the actor tells Glamour, most were written according to stereotypes and portrayed as cold, unfeeling, aggressive, or robotic. — Sam Reed, Glamour, 20 Mar. 2026 One solution is to create more positive role models for AI systems—at present, the canon mostly comprises murderous and unfeeling robots, like HAL 9000 and the Terminator. — Tharin Pillay, Time, 12 Mar. 2026 The truth is that state government is not some distant, unfeeling bureaucracy. — John Atkinson, Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for unfeeling

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfeeling

Adjective

Joe has always been ruthless, but never quite as tunnel-visioned in her motivations.

— Andy Andersen, Vulture, 20 Sep. 2026
Therefore, if Question 3 passes in this fall’s elections, Annapolis Democrats will forever be able to engage in ruthless gerrymandering to ensure that Maryland never elects another Republican or independent to Congress.

— Chris West, Baltimore Sun, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of ruthless

Adjective

At one point in the swim, her hand went directly into a compass jellyfish, leaving it numb for a while.

— Rachel Roberts, Idaho Statesman, 18 Sep. 2026
On one Anderson sack late in the first quarter, Allen kicked his feet in agony and later revealed the hit made his left arm go numb.

— Tim Graham, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of numb

Adjective

Then, in European culture, Christianity appeared, a religion which made an astonishing discovery, namely, that the primary cause for everything—humans, animals, nature, fertility, the inanimate world, the universe, the cosmos—could be concentrated into one single point.

— Merve Emre, New Yorker, 28 June 2026
As a result, the concept of animal rights was non-existent and people were free to treat animals like any other inanimate property.

— Rob Toews, Forbes.com, 22 June 2026

Definition of inanimate

Adjective

Cora, the granddaughter of a woman kidnapped from West Africa and sold into slavery, flees her captor’s plantation, plunging her into the book’s alternate steampunk reality where she is pursued by the merciless slave catcher Ridgeway.

— David Faris, TheWeek, 16 Sep. 2026
But the movie very much belongs to Trinca and Bruni Tedeschi, just as Anna belongs to the merciless stranger.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of merciless

Adjective

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
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

Definition of numbed

Adjective

Narges Mohammadi, 54, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, was temporarily released from prison for medical reasons earlier this year after falling unconscious and being transferred to a hospital.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026
Sharaf connected with a clean 1-2 combination, with the left hook turning Steveson’s head and leaving the Olympic gold medalist unconscious on the canvas.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of unconscious

Adjective

Oscar Wilde, for example, reposes beneath a hulking deity whose iconoclastic castration, back in 1961, did little to restrain pilgrims seeking to smear red lips across his stony physique.

— Emily Cox, ARTnews.com, 22 May 2026
Instead of looking like a sleek urban loft, the room can quickly start to feel cold, stony, and impersonal.

— Natasha Bazika, Martha Stewart, 9 May 2026

Definition of stony

Adjective

He had been viciously attacked seemingly while asleep, struck multiple times in the face with a sharp, ax-like instrument, The Herald News reported.

— Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2026
Rahaf swings her prosthetics to the song, and at one point, wraps her small arms around Accurso’s neck — following the song’s instructions and pretending to be asleep.

— CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of asleep

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unfeasible

unfeeling

unfeelingly

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Style

“Unfeeling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfeeling. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of unfeeling

adjective

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