heartless

[hahrt-lis]

adjective

1. unfeeling; unkind; unsympathetic; harsh; cruel.

   heartless words; a heartless ruler.

2. Archaic.,  lacking courage or enthusiasm; spiritless; disheartened.

heartless

/ ˈhɑːtlɪs /

adjective

1. unkind or cruel; hard-hearted

Other Word Forms

• heartlessly adverb
• heartlessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of heartless¹

1300–50; Middle English herteles, Old English heortlēas. See heart, -less

Example Sentences

It was the iced-over, heartless feeling that enables some people to do terrible things for what they believe are perfectly justifiable reasons.

Read more on Literature

The caricature of corporate America is heartless indifference, but Paul Gigot and Rupert Murdoch were there for my family and me.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The CPB is but one of many institutions dedicated to enriching children’s lives that are being hollowed out for no reason beyond heartless partisanship.

Read more on Salon

For government officials, being called "heartless" is an occupational hazard.

Read more on BBC

They described the comments as "horrific" and "unfathomably heartless".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• brutal 
• callous 
• cold-blooded 
• cruel 
• harsh 
• inhuman 
• insensitive 
• merciless 
• ruthless 
• uncaring www.thesaurus.com
• unkind