callousness

American  

[kal-uhs-nis] / ˈkæl əs nɪs /

noun

1. the quality of being insensitive, indifferent, or unsympathetic; hardness of heart.

   Cutting off the unemployed from their benefits is a sad blend of callousness—a complete lack of empathy for the unfortunate—and unsound economics.

2. a hardened or thickened condition of the skin or other tissue.

   Razors and shaving cause a callousness of the skin, which will encourage heavier hair growth and irritation.

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Other Word Forms

• uncallousness noun

Etymology

Origin of callousness

callous ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Example Sentences

But I got used to that too—the callousness of powerful people and the way they didn’t care what was fair.

From Literature

It was an act of the most horrendous callousness and self-interest.

From BBC

There was a callousness about his exit and the brutal words about him from Desmond.

From BBC

We knew this from past cross-country trips, but we felt surprised all over again—perhaps because of the callousness we perceive among people we see in the news.

From The Wall Street Journal

Jobless inertia and financial strife breed a cruelty that isn’t dissimilar from the cold strike of an employer maintaining their bottom line, cutting 100 workers with the same callousness that they’d cut 1,000.

From Salon

Related Words

• alienation
• apathy
• carelessness
• disdain
• disinterest
• disregard
• inattention
• inertia
• insensitivity
• lack
• negligence
• nonchalance