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
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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
-
Sweeney stars as Penny Jo, a South Dakota diner waitress with an appealing smile, an ingratiating stammer, a scarf in her hair, and deep reserves of ruthless ambition.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Aug. 2025
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Early in his career, Trump apprenticed himself to Roy Cohn, an unprincipled lawyer who taught the young Donald how to gain wealth and influence through ruthless bullying, profane braggadocio, opportunistic bigotry, baseless lawsuits, lying, and more lying.—
Robert B. Reich,
Hartford Courant,
21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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As the president delivered the White House briefing, Jackson’s right arm started getting numb.—
Denise Crosby,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Aug. 2025
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Standing on the mountain, my legs were 80 percent numb from the waist down.—
Scott Haugen,
Outdoor Life,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Of these performances, its is the most inanimate and yet evocative.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
6 June 2025
-
Thin bony fingers as inanimate as dry cigarette papers.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
16 July 2025
Adjective
-
Hollywood loves a polarizing star with a merciless marketing punch that sells.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
17 Aug. 2025
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There’s little doubt Curtis Windom perpetrated an unjustifiable evil, killing three people, including his girlfriend and her mother, shooting them in merciless fashion on Feb. 7, 1992 in Winter Garden.—
Scott Maxwell,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Yonah described how the girls were floating unconscious in the water, their life jackets keeping them afloat, as their father—who does not know how to swim—scraped up his hands, feet and back trying to save them.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
14 Aug. 2025
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But before everything hits the fan, Nate is found unconscious, and suspicion is growing around who has committed this crime.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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No expensive meter running that is racking up hefty bills and stony fees.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
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On the palate, fresh red cherry, juicy melon, and stony minerality.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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Within 30 minutes of being picked up, Giovanni texted his mother, who had been studying for an upcoming pharmacy board exam and was asleep.—
Janelle Griffith,
People.com,
9 Aug. 2025
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The clip shows a woman—who is said to be around 6.5 feet tall—gingerly climbing over a fellow passenger who appears to be asleep in the aisle seat.—
Soo Kim,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Aug. 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 27 Aug. 2025.
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