callous
Americanadjective
-
made hard; hardened.
- Synonyms:
- hard
- Antonyms:
- soft
-
insensitive; indifferent; unsympathetic.
They have a callous attitude toward the sufferings of others.
- Synonyms:
- obtuse, insensible
- Antonyms:
- sensitive
-
having a callus; indurated, as parts of the skin exposed to friction.
verb (used with or without object)
adjective
-
unfeeling; insensitive
-
(of skin) hardened and thickened
verb
Synonym Usage
See hard.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of callous
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English from Latin callōsus “hard-skinned, tough,” equivalent to call(um) “tough skin, any hard substance” + -ōsus -ous
Explanation
A callous person is insensitive or emotionally hardened. If you laugh at your little sister while she's trying to show you her poetry, you're being callous. Callous comes from the Latin root callum for hard skin. If you walk barefoot a lot, your feet will become calloused. We often use callous, as an adjective or a verb, in the metaphorical sense for emotionally hardened. If someone is unmoved by other people's problems, you might say he shows a callous indifference to human suffering or that his heart has been calloused by his own problems.
Vocabulary lists containing callous
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 2
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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.
In September 2021, a federal judge ordered GEO Group to discontinue use of HDQ Neutral at the Adelanto facility, writing that it had been used “with a callous disregard for the safety of Adelanto’s detainees.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Treating that as a casual fallback plan, when they could take a reverse mortgage if need be, seems naive at best, and callous at worst.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
“Primetime” presents itself as a story about Hansen’s callous quest for ratings and notoriety at the expense of his tact, but the portrait is unfinished.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
If you can’t understand the rewards for socially acceptable behavior, you’re bound to be seen as rude, callous, even apathetic—like someone with FTD.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Has she already forgotten how terrible Brady’s death was, or is she so callous that she just doesn’t care?
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
