THICK-SKINNED Synonyms: 113 Similar and Opposite Words

thick-skinned

adjective

ˈthik-ˌskind

Definition of thick-skinned

as in ruthless

having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings was so thick-skinned that she was clueless about the fact that the joke had hurt her friend's feelings

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of thick-skinned The trunk, in the manner of succulent trees at large, is technically a caudex or thick-skinned water storage structure, which, in this case, is also the principal photosynthesizing or food-producing organ of the tree. — Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 20 Dec. 2025 Southerners like to use these thick-skinned grapes for preserves and wines. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2025 It is made from the thick-skinned Lambrusco di Grasparossa, whose high acid keeps the wine balanced and avoids its being cloyingly sweet from its 48 grams/liter residual sugar. — John Mariani, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025 The formidable thick-skinned, long-furred beast occupied the mammoth steppe, a cold-dry grassland biome that existed during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). — Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 26 June 2024 See All Example Sentences for thick-skinned

Recent Examples of Synonyms for thick-skinned

Adjective

She is described as brusque, cantankerous, ruthless — and also a killer.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
Such ruthless prioritization produced some admirable results.

— Julianne Smith, Foreign Affairs, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of ruthless

Adjective

The book’s humor is sharp and merciless, akin to that of a standup comedy show, and yet the things described are far from funny.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
Cora, the granddaughter of a woman kidnapped from West Africa and sold into slavery, flees her captor’s plantation, plunging her into the book’s alternate steampunk reality where she is pursued by the merciless slave catcher Ridgeway.

— David Faris, TheWeek, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of merciless

Adjective

Oscar Wilde, for example, reposes beneath a hulking deity whose iconoclastic castration, back in 1961, did little to restrain pilgrims seeking to smear red lips across his stony physique.

— Emily Cox, ARTnews.com, 22 May 2026
Instead of looking like a sleek urban loft, the room can quickly start to feel cold, stony, and impersonal.

— Natasha Bazika, Martha Stewart, 9 May 2026

Definition of stony

Browse Nearby Words

thickset

thick-skinned

thick-witted

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“Thick-skinned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thick-skinned. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of thick-skinned

adjective

Example Sentences

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