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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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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Recent Examples of heartless
By a heartless, shortsighted owner who just doesn’t get it.
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Justice Delos Santos, The Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2024
Political disputes have sundered families ‒ some siblings are no longer talking ‒ and heartless or thoughtless social media posts can bring people to tears.
—Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 15 Sep. 2024
But what followed was truly unprecedented — and, frankly, heartless.
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 4 Sep. 2024
Family of victim Erica Robertson, 29, always suspected the victim’s ex-boyfriend of the heartless murder that took place on Grant Ave.
—Ellen Moynihan, New York Daily News, 6 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for heartless 
Justice Delos Santos, The Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2024
Political disputes have sundered families ‒ some siblings are no longer talking ‒ and heartless or thoughtless social media posts can bring people to tears.
—Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 15 Sep. 2024
But what followed was truly unprecedented — and, frankly, heartless.
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 4 Sep. 2024
Family of victim Erica Robertson, 29, always suspected the victim’s ex-boyfriend of the heartless murder that took place on Grant Ave.
—Ellen Moynihan, New York Daily News, 6 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for heartless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartless
Adjective
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Peyser covered the high-profile trial for the Post as a columnist, spending every day in court in order to produce a series of ruthless front-page takes about the Stewart scandal.David Mack, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024
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The standoff between Blanche’s impractical aestheticism and Stanley’s ruthless pragmatism is the heart of this quintessentially American drama.Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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This soaring exploration of generational trauma starts with Star, a survivor of the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, who’s forced to speak English and practice Christianity by the man who goes on to found the notoriously cruel Carlisle Indian Industrial School.Lizz Schumer, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024
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But at times, there’s a defensive, slightly cruel streak to his patter that can eclipse his better angels (of which there are many) and test the goodwill of those around him.Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Their idea involved merciless kills, a chainsaw, a group of youths and a homicidal family with a craving for human flesh; all set against the backdrop of a sunny, countryside day giving way to a nightmarish evening.Sydney Bishop, CNN, 31 Oct. 2024
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For most of them, the rigors of fighting on the eastern front only increased the value of fighting a merciless war—Hitler's war.Nina Turner, Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Tyson was known for his brutal knockouts, as his first 19 fights ended early — 12 in the first round.Greg Rosenstein, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
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In our age of brutal wars, authoritarian politics, cultures of contempt, and technology that promises to replace us with machines, what is left of the idea of the human being?George Packer, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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That forces him to descend the 8,000-foot-and-higher safety zone of the Rocky Mountains, and into the lower-elevation danger zone where vicious monsters roam free.John Wenzel, The Denver Post, 14 Nov. 2024
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Scott, the old pro, knows how to give these scenes a vicious vitality that overcomes any thoughts about how the Romans supposedly got live sharks in the water.Alison Willmore, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024
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
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Cite this Entry
“Heartless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartless. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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