callousness
Americannoun
-
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.
-
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.
Other Word Forms
- uncallousness noun
Etymology
Origin of callousness
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.
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 • Nov. 8, 2025
Border Patrol vehicles at the time carried no lifesaving equipment, which “suggested callousness, if not criminal neglect,” Human Rights Watch argued.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2024
Her frank admission reminds Billy that Agatha is not a nice person, even if her callousness is entertaining.
From Salon • Oct. 31, 2024
Readers will understandably recoil at the musician’s callousness, especially given Mintz’s sublimation of himself in the service of Lennon and Ono.
From Salon • Oct. 25, 2024
They need their callousness, they need their ignorance.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions 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.
