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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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of heartless
By a heartless, shortsighted owner who just doesn’t get it.
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Justice Delos Santos, The Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2024
Political disputes have sundered families ‒ some siblings are no longer talking ‒ and heartless or thoughtless social media posts can bring people to tears.
—Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 15 Sep. 2024
But what followed was truly unprecedented — and, frankly, 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
See all Example Sentences for heartless 
Justice Delos Santos, The Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2024
Political disputes have sundered families ‒ some siblings are no longer talking ‒ and heartless or thoughtless social media posts can bring people to tears.
—Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 15 Sep. 2024
But what followed was truly unprecedented — and, frankly, 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
See all Example Sentences for heartless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartless
Adjective
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The ruthless military officer with the monocle and the swagger stick who sends his men to senseless death and/or turns traitor.Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
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Her wife and now-teenage daughter stood by her throughout the process, despite ruthless coverage from Mexican and Spanish news outlets, some of which continue to misgender and deadname her to this day.Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 21 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The in-person aspects of the contest have remained generally positive, but online, with each new addition, the very nature of commenting on people’s bodies, looks, and attractiveness is basically heavy bait for someone to eventually say something cruel.CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 21 Nov. 2024
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Yet some began to blanch at this cruel ostentation.Tim Gallagher, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Tragedies like these were confrontations — merciless verbal duels in which two characters plead their case, go on the attack, try to take each other apart.Sara Holdren, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2024
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And as long as that’s their take, merciless heckling of those umps should be, too.Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 29 June 2024
Adjective
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Tyson was known for his brutal knockouts, as his first 19 fights ended early — 12 in the first round.Greg Rosenstein, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
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In our age of brutal wars, authoritarian politics, cultures of contempt, and technology that promises to replace us with machines, what is left of the idea of the human being?George Packer, The Atlantic, 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 28 Nov. 2024.
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