Dictionary

callousness en · NOUN

Etymology

Etymology tree English callous Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English callousness From callous + -ness.

Meanings

1. (uncountable, usually) The quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference.
   • To have killed Laploshka was one thing; to have kept his beloved money would have argued a callousness of feeling of which I was not capable. 1910, Saki [pseudonym; Hector Hugh Munro], “The Soul of Laploshka”, in Reginald in Russia and Other Sketches, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 69:
   • "The image of workers who had embraced each other as concrete crushed them — that final act of human kindness in the face of death — shattered my callousness completely." 2025 November 13, Kamala Thiagarajan, “If you're going to be kind to another human, today is the day to do it!”, in NPR:
   • Fred was known for his callousness; local panhandlers had long since learned not to try their sob stories on him.
2. (uncountable, usually) The quality of having calluses.

Forms

Synonyms

insensitivity · callosity · hardheartedness

Translations (29)

fi kylmäsydämisyys (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · tr nasırlılık (quality of having calluses) · tr katılık (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · de Gefühllosigkeit (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · got 𐌳𐌰𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌸𐌰 (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · ru бесчу́вственность (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · got 𐌷𐌰𐍂𐌳𐌿𐌷𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍄𐌴𐌹 (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · gl desdén (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · grc πώρωσις (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · gl indiferenza (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · hi अनुरागहीनता (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · es callosidad (quality of having calluses) · fi kylmäverisyys (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · pl znieczulica (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · fi känsäisyys (quality of having calluses) · de Abgebrühtheit (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · fr insensibilité (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · de Schwieligkeit (quality of having calluses) · de Herzlosigkeit (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · pl bezduszność (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · nl ongevoeligheid (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · de Kaltschnäuzigkeit (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · hi उदासीनता (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · got 𐌳𐌰𐌿𐌱𐌴𐌹 (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · gl desconsideración (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · gl insensibilidade (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · ga cruachroíocht (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · de Unempfindlichkeit (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference) · hi संवेदनहीनता (quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference)