as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
the callous comment "It's just a fish," when the boy's pet died, made him cry
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Recent Examples of callous
Bobby is clearly in crisis and their disregard not only comes across as callous but strongly suggests a troubling home life.
—
R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 10 May 2025
This version of Johnny is less callous with other people's feelings, and hopefully there's a self-awareness about what's driving that attention-seeking behavior.
—EW.com, 10 Apr. 2025
The faceoff between Cara and the lion is an unmistakable callback to the series premiere, which opened with Cara gunning down a man in what initially appeared to be a callous act of violence (but is later revealed to be retribution for an assassination attempt on her family).
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 23 Feb. 2025
However, the consensus is that the chaotic manner in which the recent US foreign assistance cuts were implemented was needlessly callous.
—Jennifer Lotito, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for callous
R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 10 May 2025
This version of Johnny is less callous with other people's feelings, and hopefully there's a self-awareness about what's driving that attention-seeking behavior.
—EW.com, 10 Apr. 2025
The faceoff between Cara and the lion is an unmistakable callback to the series premiere, which opened with Cara gunning down a man in what initially appeared to be a callous act of violence (but is later revealed to be retribution for an assassination attempt on her family).
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 23 Feb. 2025
However, the consensus is that the chaotic manner in which the recent US foreign assistance cuts were implemented was needlessly callous.
—Jennifer Lotito, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for callous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for callous
Adjective
-
The ruthless, physical Panthers will get a strong Oilers squad, with Ekholm back on the back end, Skinner emphatically taking back his net from Calvin Pickard, and both McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on top of their games.—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
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As with everything Banksy, siting and context are chief among the avenues of investigation into the man’s intent and into his his hilariously ruthless nocturnal execution of his art.—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
Adjective
-
The film is cold-bloodedly whimsical, asking the audience to root for a merciless man who endeavors, ever so incrementally, to understand some deeper human truths.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
6 June 2025
-
Unless stopped, Trump and the Republicans who follow him may go down as the most merciless and morally bankrupt leaders this country has ever produced.—
Tom Debley,
Mercury News,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Callous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/callous. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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