callous
[kal-uhs]
adjective
made hard; hardened.
insensitive; indifferent; unsympathetic: They have a callous attitude toward the sufferings of others.
having a callus; indurated, as parts of the skin exposed to friction.
verb (used with or without object)
to make or become hard or callous.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
negligence, disdain, carelessness, inattention, apathy, lack, nonchalance, alienation, disinterest, disregard, inertia, insensitivity, savagery, brutality, cruelty, barbarism, atrocity, inhumanity, depravity, malice
Nearby words
- callosal gyrus,
- callose,
- callosity,
- callot,
- callot, jacques,
- calloused,
- callously,
- callow,
- calloway,
- calloway, cab
Origin of callous
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin callōsus hard-skinned, tough, equivalent to call(um) tough skin, any hard substance + -ōsus -ous
SYNONYMS FOR callous
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for callousness
callous
adjective
verb
Word Origin for callous
C16: from Latin callōsus; see callus
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
callous
c.1400, "hardened," in the physical sense, from Latin callosus "thick-skinned," from callus, callum "hard skin" (see callus). The figurative sense of "unfeeling" appeared in English by 1670s. Related: Callously; callousness.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
callous
[kăl′əs]
adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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