affectless

adjective

af·​fect·​less ˈa-ˌfekt-ləs 

a-ˈfekt-

: showing or expressing no emotion

also : unfeeling

a ruthless affectless society

affectlessness noun

Synonyms

• callous
• case-hardened
• cold-blooded
• compassionless
• desensitized
• hard
• hard-boiled
• hard-hearted
• heartless
• indurate
• inhuman
• inhumane
• insensate
• insensitive
• ironhearted
• merciless
• obdurate
• pachydermatous
• pitiless
• remorseless
• ruthless
• slash-and-burn
• soulless
• stony
• stoney
• stonyhearted
• take-no-prisoners
• thick-skinned
• uncharitable
• unfeeling
• unmerciful
• unsparing
• unsympathetic

Examples of affectless in a Sentence

an affectless analysis of the cost of the war purely in pecuniary terms

the accused remained affectless throughout the long trial

Recent Examples on the Web

Actually, Stone’s voiceover isn’t affectless. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Sep. 2022

And the key to the mystery — not the solution to it but the dark center of it — is Swinton Byrne’s quiet, reserved, at times almost affectless performance. —New York Times, 7 Dec. 2021

Skarsgård does well with the character’s daytime ambiguity (tight-faced, affectless) and nighttime plotting (observant, physically lithe). —Vulture, 27 Apr. 2022

The clip is entirely affectless—an authentic moment of pure lyricism. —John Seabrook, The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2022

Word History

Etymology

affect entry 3 + -less

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined above