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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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of heartless
The first four episodes of season 2 crept onto Netflix earlier this month, throwing our favorite heartless teenager (played by Jenna Ortega) headfirst into a new mystery, complete with secret experiments, ravenous zombies, and a spat of unsettling bird murders.
—
Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Roy Scheider briefly appears as an executive so heartless even his folksy blue cardigan seems to hate his guts.
—Linda Holmes, NPR, 15 Aug. 2025
The heartless subway mugger who slashed and badly wounded a woman on an empty Manhattan train car will stay locked up following his arrest late last week.
—Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2025
All of that could be achieved, in a bipartisan fashion, without this massive and heartless overreach — and without these crushing deficits.
—Johnny Olszewski, Baltimore Sun, 9 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heartless
Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Roy Scheider briefly appears as an executive so heartless even his folksy blue cardigan seems to hate his guts.
—Linda Holmes, NPR, 15 Aug. 2025
The heartless subway mugger who slashed and badly wounded a woman on an empty Manhattan train car will stay locked up following his arrest late last week.
—Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2025
All of that could be achieved, in a bipartisan fashion, without this massive and heartless overreach — and without these crushing deficits.
—Johnny Olszewski, Baltimore Sun, 9 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heartless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartless
Adjective
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While team boss Toto Wolff appreciates both, he is known for being ruthless when push comes to shove.—
Nelson Espinal,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Sep. 2025
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Thanks to the tethering process, his memories of the last year have been wiped, leaving only a man known as Red, a ruthless shadow and former contract killer for a cruel, mercurial billionaire.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Sena was crying in pain, and so were her new owners, who even questioned whether keeping her alive was cruel.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Sep. 2025
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Directed by Oliver Laxe, who’s been making waves at Cannes for years, the movie is funny and warm in parts, cruel and cold in others.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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But is my merciless game persona merely nurture, or does nature have something to do with it too?—
Julie Beck,
The Atlantic,
17 Sep. 2025
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Here, under the merciless South Florida sun, seeds of hope were planted again Sunday with Vrabel’s first win.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Given the Normans’ brutal treatment of the English and their subsequent expansion across the Mediterranean, there are undeniable parallels between 1066 and later spasms of European expansionism.—
Will Collins,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Sep. 2025
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The eight-episode thriller, which premieres September 19 on ViX, follows Nolasco Black (Bichir), a forensic dentist investigating brutal murders in 19th century Veracruz who discovers evidence that the infamous London killer has crossed the Atlantic.—
Veronica Villafañe,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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As and when evidence against that narrative comes out, either via six monthly reports or from some other source, the crash in the stock price will be more vicious than otherwise.—
Shivaram Rajgopal,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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In these homes, the conflict between budgeting and feeding kids well creates huge psychological stress for parents, which can lead to anxiety and depression, fueling the vicious cycle of stress and unhealthy eating, Beresin said.—
Yasmin Tayag,
The Atlantic,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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My father was a thirty-two-year-old tank commander who had crossed to occupied France shortly after D-Day, fought in the savage battle for Caen and then on through northern France.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Sep. 2025
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This thrilling prequel stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa and Alyla Browne as young Furiosa, who is abducted by the savage warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) — leader of the Biker Horde — and spends the next decade in captivity plotting her revenge and escape.—
Charlotte Walsh,
People.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heartless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartless. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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