1
as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
a heartless boss who would fire people for missing work, even if they were sick as a dog
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cruel
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
his heartless whipping of runaway slaves virtually to the point of death shocked even other slave owners
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of heartless
Also in the trailer, the callous VIPs return for a masked dinner — and to make heartless wagers on the lives of the players.
—
Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 5 May 2025
This is a heartless joke to them, which is really unfortunate.
—Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 25 Apr. 2025
The pope also came in for criticism from right-wing commentators such as Rush Limbaugh, who labeled Francis a Marxist because of his blunt condemnations of heartless capitalism and the concentration of wealth in the hands of so few.
—Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2025
Since then, the poster has been inundated with calls and messages accusing him of being heartless—including from her family.
—John W. Dean, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heartless
Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 5 May 2025
This is a heartless joke to them, which is really unfortunate.
—Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 25 Apr. 2025
The pope also came in for criticism from right-wing commentators such as Rush Limbaugh, who labeled Francis a Marxist because of his blunt condemnations of heartless capitalism and the concentration of wealth in the hands of so few.
—Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2025
Since then, the poster has been inundated with calls and messages accusing him of being heartless—including from her family.
—John W. Dean, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heartless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartless
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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The reason Evin is infamous is because of its terribly cruel high security detention centers that are poorly supervised by the Prison Chief.—
Jeff Kaufman,
Time,
30 May 2025
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But then perhaps that is her unsatisfying but depressingly undeniable point: there is no challenging minds this small, behaviors this cruel, spirits this mean.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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Here lies the brutal dilemma of change: Leaders see systems; people feel emotions.—
Sahar Andrade,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2025
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As the state on Thursday summed up the brutal details that made up the prosecution’s case, a relative walked out of the courtroom with a loud scream, causing Petrone to tell the jury to ignore the outburst.—
Madeline Buckley,
Chicago Tribune,
5 June 2025
Adjective
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There are other objects of worship from the days when Japan’s Christians had to hide from vicious persecution, including a ceramic bottle of holy water from Nakaenoshima, an island where Hidden Christians were martyred in the 1620s.—
Foster Klug,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2025
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Years before the Kendrick Lamar and Drake imbroglio, Pusha T shared his own vicious diss track against the Canadian hip-hop superstar.—
Matthew Strauss,
Pitchfork,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.—
Tom Yulsman,
Discover Magazine,
27 Dec. 2022
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The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Dec. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Heartless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartless. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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