heartless

adjective

ˈhärt-ləs How to pronounce heartless (audio)
Definition of heartlessnext
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

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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 The script, by Ed Solomon, treats the Sklar siblings as cardboard grotesques—heartless, talentless, united in their loathing of a father who loathes them right back. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2026 Where the latter brought incredible jokes and plenty of heart, the former is purposefully heartless and half-intentionally predictable. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 17 Mar. 2026 The $31 million bill will override a heartless funding cut by the state Department of Health and, for now, avoids a potential life-or-death situation for about 11,000 people in Florida. — Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Mar. 2026 Kane was a fan favorite heroine-villain female fictional character who may have appeared heartless on the show at times. — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 28 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for heartless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartless
  1. ruthless
  2. cruel
  3. merciless
  4. brutal
  5. stony
  6. vicious
  7. savage
Adjective
  • The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
    — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Facinelli plays the Boss, a ruthless figure whose cash ends up in the pool hustler’s hands, and intends to get it back, one way or another.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of ruthless
Adjective
  • Participants fell into their roles a little too well and, after a prisoner rebellion, increasingly cruel forms of punishment from the guards and a number of students suffering mental breakdowns, the experiment was ended on the sixth day.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 25 Oct. 2026
  • But these townswomen — whether the undersexed Bakerwoman (Ella Bruccoleri ) or the prim, cruel busybody the Tailor’s Wife (a deliciously scheming Elizabeth Debicki) — are deeply unhappy with their own lot in life.
    — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of cruel
Adjective
  • It would be seen as a work of merciless autofiction in the vein of Karl Ove Knausgaard, and it would be discussed, as his books are, as aggressive, antisocial, and spiteful.
    — B. D. McClay, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • In the story, Ria teams up with her foster mother and their fellow punks to resist a merciless developer intent on tearing down their building.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of merciless
Adjective
  • Now in his 25th year on television, Chuck has built a beloved media career through brutal honesty.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Although the decrease in shot volume wasn’t quite as dramatic, Giddey went 1-for-10 from the field and scored only two points in Wednesday’s brutal beatdown by the Raptors.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of brutal
Adjective
  • Oscar Wilde, for example, reposes beneath a hulking deity whose iconoclastic castration, back in 1961, did little to restrain pilgrims seeking to smear red lips across his stony physique.
    — Emily Cox, ARTnews.com, 22 May 2026
  • Instead of looking like a sleek urban loft, the room can quickly start to feel cold, stony, and impersonal.
    — Natasha Bazika, Martha Stewart, 9 May 2026
Definition of stony
Adjective
  • The vicious cycle of the current model, of course, is that to become marketable a team needs to get and retain good players, and to do that a school has to spend money, which cycles the whole thing back to the start.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Governments were expected to rescue struggling banks, which held large amounts of sovereign debt, creating a vicious cycle.
    — Jenni Reid,Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of vicious
Adjective
  • In ancient, supposedly more savage times, public killings were common.
    — Dr. Michael Good, Hartford Courant, 22 Oct. 2026
  • That’s when another event, GRB 250702B, revealed itself in all its relentless, savage glory.
    — Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of savage

Browse Nearby Words

heartiness
heartless
heartlessly
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Cite this Entry

“Heartless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartless. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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