1
as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
a heartless boss who would fire people for missing work, even if they were sick as a dog
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cruel
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
his heartless whipping of runaway slaves virtually to the point of death shocked even other slave owners
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of heartless
From Lois and the boys’ discovery of Clark’s limp, heartless corpse to the scream Jordan released when Lex crushed that heart under his boot, there was no shortage of drama.
—
Andy Swift, TVLine, 7 Oct. 2024
Resist this madness before the unhinged, heartless bully and his spellbound thugs shred our Constitution and our future.
—Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2025
At least one federal employee that Elon Musk can’t fire has taken an important stand for all the workers who were terminated in Musk’s heartless government purge.
—Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 30 Mar. 2025
Nelis renders the professor a pompous and pedantic twit but not a heartless one.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heartless
Andy Swift, TVLine, 7 Oct. 2024
Resist this madness before the unhinged, heartless bully and his spellbound thugs shred our Constitution and our future.
—Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2025
At least one federal employee that Elon Musk can’t fire has taken an important stand for all the workers who were terminated in Musk’s heartless government purge.
—Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 30 Mar. 2025
Nelis renders the professor a pompous and pedantic twit but not a heartless one.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heartless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartless
Adjective
-
O’Neil had shown a more ruthless streak in dealing with Lemina, stripping the midfielder of the captaincy after those embarrassing post-match scenes at West Ham.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2025
-
There is the ruthless spymaster Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) and his mysterious assistant Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau).—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Such evidence could support the view that incessant loud noise amounts to torture or cruel treatment towards cetaceans, in turn galvanizing support for a new right to be free from such harm.—
David Gruber,
Time,
24 Apr. 2025
-
But this is the cruel and unreasonable state of this Administration's deportation policy.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Inspired by Lauren’s late mother, Adele, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 55, their family knows that this merciless disease is no laughing matter.—
Jeff Conway,
Forbes.com,
17 Apr. 2025
-
Lottie proposes that Natalie be stripped of her title and that the merciless and vicious Shauna should lead them instead.—
Erin Qualey,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
But graduating in 2009 meant stepping into a brutal job market during the Great Recession.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
-
Andrews adds musical interludes, which don’t always work, and brutal jokes, which do.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
This was a vicious weaponization of your government.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
-
Employees losing jobs because companies will lay off workers to off-set the expense of tariffs will also mean fewer customers buying goods and services, creating a vicious cycle that depresses both corporate revenues and economic growth.—
Solange Charas,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.—
Tom Yulsman,
Discover Magazine,
27 Dec. 2022
-
The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Dec. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Heartless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartless. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share