HEARTLESSNESS Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

heartlessness

noun

as in cruelty

disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others the gung ho heartlessness with which the secret police tortured prisoners was beyond belief

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of heartlessness These young graduates start out naive about the heartlessness of the corporate world and harbor illusory hopes for success in unforgiving professions. —

George Packer, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2026 The lives of the two children in the story, aged fourteen and four, are portrayed as being as fleeting as the fireflies, and the story is an unsentimental and unflinching account with moments of both tenderness and heartlessness. —

Ginny Tapley Takemori september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartlessness

Noun

That’s one of the great cruelties of the world.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 May 2026
The movie, set in Spain in 1944, is both an intoxicating work of fantasy and a grim parable of political rebellion, and its insights into the cruelties and vulnerabilities of fascist power remain undimmed.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 18 May 2026