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

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.

From Salon

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

From BBC

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

From BBC

None of them have created more human misery than White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller’s heartless mass roundup and deportation program.

From Salon

That’s why Marin, who now lives in Walnut Park, thinks the mass deportations hitting Southern California are “heartless” and that Homeland Security’s claim of focusing on violent criminals is “nonsense.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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