Dictionary

heartless en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈhɑɹt.lɪs/ (General-American)
• (US) audio
• /ˈhɑːt.lɪs/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English hertles, herteles, from Old English heortlēas (“without courage; listless”), equivalent to heart + -less. Cognate with German herzlos.

Meanings

1. Without feeling, emotion, or concern for others; uncaring; cruel.
   • It's safer to be heartless than mindless. The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless. 1986 January 23, Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, “The Smoke Screen”, in Yes, Prime Minister, season 1, episode 3, spoken by Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne):
   • His heartless actions and cold manner left her saddened and feeling alone.
   • The world is a dangerous, violent place […] and the only true refuge from this heartless world is the family. 1982 August 14, Michael Bronski, “If You Hated The Book You'll Loathe The Movie”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 5, page 11:
   • Mr. Burns is similarly perfectly cast as a heartless capitalist willing to do anything for a quick buck, even if it means endangering the lives of those around him and Marge elegantly rounds out the main cast as a good, pure-hearted and overly indulgent woman who sees the big, good heart (literally and metaphorically) of a monstrous man-brute. 2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 15 Aug 2012:
2. Without a physical heart.
3. (archaic) Listless, unenthusiastic.
   • Near-synonyms: spiritless, unhearty
4. (obsolete) Without courage; fearful, cowardly.
   • Cecilia then, though almost heartless, resolved upon talking with Mr. Harrel himself […]. 1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia, II.iii.7:

Forms

Antonyms

phlegmatic · unenthusiastic · blasé · lotophagous · untouched · unaroused · impassive · apathistical · languorous · hearty · hearty · gallionic · nonplussed · heartless · indifferent · unlively · lukewarm · lethargic · mopey · enervated · dull · insouciant · otiose · uncaring · apathetic · languid · uninterested · supine · halfhearted · jaded · tepid · heartful · spiritless · meh · blithe · listless · nonchalant · dauntless · Laodicean · adiaphroistic · unmoved · unconcerned · cordial · cool · world-weary · torpedinous · torpid · insensible · pococurante · shiftless · lackadaisical · unzealous · unimpressible · ineffervescible · heartful · dispassionate · deaf

Coordinates

soulless · mindless · thoughtless · halfhearted

Deriveds

heartlessly · heartlessness

Synonyms

nithing · chickenshit · pussylike · mousy · invertebrate · humorless · uncordial · craven · punk · unhearty · rockhearted · spiritless · rigorous · unhearty · stonehearted · insensitive · lily-livered · cowish · white-livered · niddering · white-hearted · fearful · nutless · chicken-livered · yellow-bellied · timid · timorous · heartless · icy · nerveless · soft · cold-hearted · cold · stonyhearted · retromingent · backboneless · cowardy · grim · harsh · miching · forbidding · dough-faced · milk-livered · spineless · ratlike · candy-assed · dastard · wimpish · fraidy · gutless · insensate · hen-hearted · hardened · cruel · niding · cowhearted · iron-hearted · boneless · unmoved · cold-eyed · dastardly · callous · dour · gutless · cringey · fainthearted · cravenhearted · stony · nidering · hard · brutal · kiasi · poltroonish · rabbit-hearted · low-hearted · base · liver-hearted · severe · yellow · liver-faced · frosty · heartless · hardhanded · hardhearted · poor-spirited · unsympathetic · pigeon-livered · thick-skinned · cowardly · hard-boiled · stern · mouse-hearted · bitch-ass · unhearty · invalorous · weak-kneed · milky · strict · tough · chicken-hearted · gizzardless · spineless · courageless · marble-hearted · acardiac · caitiff · pusillanimous · sissy · chicken · dickless · recrayed · cowardish · flint-hearted

Translations (31)

pl bez serca (without feeling) · pt sem coração (without feeling) · ja 無情 (without feeling) · mi ngākaukore (without feeling) · fa بیدل (without feeling) · mk бездушен (without feeling) · no hjerteløs (without feeling) · hu szívtelen (without feeling) · de herzlos (without feeling) · fi sydämetön (without feeling) · pl bezserdeczny (without feeling) · bg безсърдечен (without feeling) · cmn 無情 /无情 (without feeling) · sk bezcitný (without feeling) · la socors (without feeling) · pl bezduszny (without feeling) · la insensibilis (without feeling) · sv hjärtlös (without feeling) · hi निर्दयी (without feeling) · da hjerteløs (without feeling) · el άκαρδος (without feeling) · uk безсерде́чний (without feeling) · cmn 殘忍 /残忍 (without feeling) · ru бессерде́чный (without feeling) · eo senkora (without feeling) · fr sans-cœur (without feeling) · es desalmado (without feeling) · mi tītonga (without feeling) · es cruel (without feeling) · grc ἄστοργος (without feeling) · ru безду́шный (without feeling)