coldheartedness

noun

as in heartlessness

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for coldheartedness
  1. heartlessness
  2. callousness
  3. indifference
  4. hard-heartedness
  5. cruelty
Noun
  • These young graduates start out naive about the heartlessness of the corporate world and harbor illusory hopes for success in unforgiving professions.
    — George Packer, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2026
  • The lives of the two children in the story, aged fourteen and four, are portrayed as being as fleeting as the fireflies, and the story is an unsentimental and unflinching account with moments of both tenderness and heartlessness.
    — Ginny Tapley Takemori September 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Definition of heartlessness
Noun
  • Rather, the crisis of the Lincoln has illuminated a pattern of callousness and cruelty toward military personnel, people who have sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.
    — Andrea N. Goldstein, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Simon’s self-righteous callousness warranted a rebuke, but the rebuke provided Simon the opportunity to see the situation more clearly, to repent, and to love more going forward.
    — Eric Bashor, Christian Science Monitor, 13 July 2026
Definition of callousness
Noun
  • The building at the excavation was previously thought to have served as a prison, due to the shoddiness of its construction and its indifference to aesthetics.
    — Jim Greer, SPIN, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Yet Jocelyne keeps hitting a wall of indifference from the military and authorities.
    — Ed Meza, Variety, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of indifference
Noun
  • Tarr's reputation for films tinged with misery and hard-heartedness, distinguished by black-and-white cinematography and unusually long sequences, only grew throughout the 1990s and 2000s, particularly after his 1994 film Sátántangó.
    — Alina Edwards, NPR, 6 Jan. 2026
Definition of hard-heartedness
Noun
  • The bureau will additionally consider applicants who have engaged in bestiality or animal cruelty as long as the incidents occurred before the applicant was 18 years old, the sources said, according to CBS News.
    — Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The Looney Tunes animation–live action hybrid film is an inspired David-and-Goliath tale about the overreach and cruelty of corporations in the modern age, and its journey to release is a real-life corollary.
    — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of cruelty
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.

Browse Nearby Words

coldhearted
coldheartedness
coldish
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Coldheartedness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coldheartedness. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of apiary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All