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
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
This callous action will especially hurt working families in our state, as Florida leads the nation with 4.6 million people enrolled in ACA health care coverage.
—Roxey Nelson, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2025
The similarly futile attempts to portray John Walker as a flawed but good man, despite his callous rage and murderous tendencies?
—Nola Pfau, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2025
For as much as the creative class is often associated with liberal thinking, the American far-right (and its grassroots, the Christian Right) has, through callous striving and norm-shattering effort, been motivated by a spark of Machiavellian imagination.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for callous
Jennifer Lotito, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
This callous action will especially hurt working families in our state, as Florida leads the nation with 4.6 million people enrolled in ACA health care coverage.
—Roxey Nelson, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2025
The similarly futile attempts to portray John Walker as a flawed but good man, despite his callous rage and murderous tendencies?
—Nola Pfau, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2025
For as much as the creative class is often associated with liberal thinking, the American far-right (and its grassroots, the Christian Right) has, through callous striving and norm-shattering effort, been motivated by a spark of Machiavellian imagination.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for callous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for callous
Adjective
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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
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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
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The Heat’s roller-coaster season has come to a merciless end.—
Jared Weiss,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
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This time, his assignment takes him to Serbia, as he is tasked with assassinating the merciless General Mile Valstoria (Peter Linka).—
Christopher Rudolph,
People.com,
10 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Callous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/callous. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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