as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
a hard-hearted brush-off to a homeless man asking for money
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Recent Examples of hard-hearted
And each registered the other’s contention with the hard-hearted energy of her own physical craving.
—
Jim Shepard, New Yorker, 8 June 2025
Joel, a hard-hearted smuggler, and Ellie, a headstrong teenager immune to the fungal pandemic that’s decimated the planet.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 5 Mar. 2025
Linda finds her own therapist (Conan O’Brien) insufferably hard-hearted; one of her own patients (Danielle Macdonald) gets ignored in a moment of crisis; a man named James (A$AP Rocky), the super at the motel, befriends her but gets little to show for it but insult and injury.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2025
The hard-hearted treatment of men is on full display throughout Cecot.
—David Culver, CNN, 6 Nov. 2024
In the face of such terror, even hard-hearted Sam has to crumble.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 27 June 2024
Technically Shaw is a mercenary, but not a cynical or hard-hearted one.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 11 Feb. 2024
Xi and his team haven’t shown much more concern than the hard-hearted villagers of Lu Xun’s story.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 29 June 2023
Jim Shepard, New Yorker, 8 June 2025
Joel, a hard-hearted smuggler, and Ellie, a headstrong teenager immune to the fungal pandemic that’s decimated the planet.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 5 Mar. 2025
Linda finds her own therapist (Conan O’Brien) insufferably hard-hearted; one of her own patients (Danielle Macdonald) gets ignored in a moment of crisis; a man named James (A$AP Rocky), the super at the motel, befriends her but gets little to show for it but insult and injury.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2025
The hard-hearted treatment of men is on full display throughout Cecot.
—David Culver, CNN, 6 Nov. 2024
In the face of such terror, even hard-hearted Sam has to crumble.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 27 June 2024
Technically Shaw is a mercenary, but not a cynical or hard-hearted one.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 11 Feb. 2024
Xi and his team haven’t shown much more concern than the hard-hearted villagers of Lu Xun’s story.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 29 June 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-hearted
Adjective
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Related Stories Said to be the first book in a series, Little Hands watches as a young British woman with a mysterious past inadvertently joins a ruthless gang of female thieves who rob the ultra-wealthy along the French Riviera.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
9 June 2025
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This is because the film, which Anderson both wrote (alongside Roman Coppola) and directed, centers on wealthy business tycoon Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro), who, thanks to his often ruthless deal-making, has become a frequent target of assassination attempts.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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The film is cold-bloodedly whimsical, asking the audience to root for a merciless man who endeavors, ever so incrementally, to understand some deeper human truths.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
6 June 2025
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Unless stopped, Trump and the Republicans who follow him may go down as the most merciless and morally bankrupt leaders this country has ever produced.—
Tom Debley,
Mercury News,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hard-hearted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-hearted. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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