SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
callous
adjective
Showing an unfeeling disregard for other people's difficulties.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Unfeeling toward others
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topHeartless is especially harsh; callous suggests indifference hardened by habit or attitude.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See callous in use
The callous remark upset a colleague who had asked for help.
Later, a volunteer described losing several days of paid work because the installation date had changed. A joking reply struck the group as callous because it ignored the seriousness of her situation.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license