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
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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
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Recent Examples of heartless
But what followed was truly unprecedented — and, frankly, heartless.
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Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 4 Sep. 2024
Family of victim Erica Robertson, 29, always suspected the victim’s ex-boyfriend of the heartless murder that took place on Grant Ave.
—Ellen Moynihan, New York Daily News, 6 June 2024
The Peacock folks aren’t entirely heartless, though: Existing loyal subscribers won’t have to start paying the new rates until their first billing cycle on or after August 17.
—Josef Adalian, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2024
When Becca and Andie fight, Andie hits her head again and, in a cold and heartless move, watches her older sibling choke to death on her own vomit because she’s concussed.
—Sophie Hanson, StyleCaster, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for heartless 
Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 4 Sep. 2024
Family of victim Erica Robertson, 29, always suspected the victim’s ex-boyfriend of the heartless murder that took place on Grant Ave.
—Ellen Moynihan, New York Daily News, 6 June 2024
The Peacock folks aren’t entirely heartless, though: Existing loyal subscribers won’t have to start paying the new rates until their first billing cycle on or after August 17.
—Josef Adalian, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2024
When Becca and Andie fight, Andie hits her head again and, in a cold and heartless move, watches her older sibling choke to death on her own vomit because she’s concussed.
—Sophie Hanson, StyleCaster, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for heartless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartless
Adjective
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Peyser covered the high-profile trial for the Post as a columnist, spending every day in court in order to produce a series of ruthless front-page takes about the Stewart scandal.David Mack, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024
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The standoff between Blanche’s impractical aestheticism and Stanley’s ruthless pragmatism is the heart of this quintessentially American drama.Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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This soaring exploration of generational trauma starts with Star, a survivor of the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, who’s forced to speak English and practice Christianity by the man who goes on to found the notoriously cruel Carlisle Indian Industrial School.Lizz Schumer, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024
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Calcutta and appeared as Tony Moss, the cruel, toupeed director of the topless dance revue at the Stardust Casino, in Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls (1995).Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Their idea involved merciless kills, a chainsaw, a group of youths and a homicidal family with a craving for human flesh; all set against the backdrop of a sunny, countryside day giving way to a nightmarish evening.Sydney Bishop, CNN, 31 Oct. 2024
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For most of them, the rigors of fighting on the eastern front only increased the value of fighting a merciless war—Hitler's war.Nina Turner, Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone (who earned an Emmy nomination for her work in the show) make a formidable duo as an author and a police officer, respectively, investigating the brutal murder of a 14-year-old girl in a small town in Canada.Jennifer M. Wood, WIRED, 5 Nov. 2024
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Wealth and income gaps have grown dramatically and housing costs are brutal.Gary Langer, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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That forces him to descend the 8,000-foot-and-higher safety zone of the Rocky Mountains, and into the lower-elevation danger zone where vicious monsters roam free.John Wenzel, The Denver Post, 14 Nov. 2024
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Scott, the old pro, knows how to give these scenes a vicious vitality that overcomes any thoughts about how the Romans supposedly got live sharks in the water.Alison Willmore, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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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
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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
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Cite this Entry
“Heartless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartless. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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