cold-hearted

American

[kohld-hahr-tid] / ˈkoʊldˈhɑr tɪd /

adjective

lacking sympathy or feeling; indifferent; unkind.

cold-hearted British

adjective

lacking in feeling or warmth; unkind

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of cold-hearted

First recorded in 1600–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

cold-hearted

I don’t wish to be cold-hearted, but none of us are in a position to take on the responsibility ourselves.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

“I’m not going to be cold-hearted to single parent families that sometimes find themselves in this situation,” Presley said.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2023

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the new rules will tackle "cold-hearted" scammers who "ruin lives in seconds."

From BBC ● May 3, 2023

There are multiple observations one could make about the cold-hearted calculus of the NFL and football world.

From Salon ● Jan. 5, 2023

Couldn’t no one but a demon be that cold-hearted, and even if the Preacher had a whole boatload of things that’d make you wonder, couldn’t no one say he waren’t a man.

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023