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.
It was an act of the most horrendous callousness and self-interest.
From BBC • Jan. 12, 2026
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
If you weren’t turned off by the perception of callousness, the distraction of watching the level of charity pot dwindle while people thanked their mothers, spouses and co-workers was aggravating.
From Salon • Sep. 15, 2025
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
But he wasn’t afraid to say it: my callousness inspired in him a horror nearly greater than that which he felt at the crime of parricide.
From "The Stranger" by Albert Camus
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.
