Callous

adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Alternative form of callus. alt-of, alternative

    "Hanson was beginning to feel annoyance at the suddenly cocksure and unsympathetic girl, but he stood fully erect and flexed his muscles. There wasn't even a trace of bedsoreness, though he had been flat on his back long enough to grow callouses."

Verb
  1. 1
    Alternative form of callus. alt-of, alternative
  2. 2
    make insensitive or callous; deaden feelings or morals wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Emotionally hardened; unfeeling and indifferent to the suffering/feelings of others. figuratively

    "She was so callous that she could criticise a cancer patient for wearing a wig."

  2. 2
    Having calluses, or relating to calluses. literally
Adjective
  1. 1
    emotionally hardened wordnet
  2. 2
    having calluses; having skin made tough and thick through wear wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
callousedheartlessinsensitivepachydermatousannealapathetic

Example

More examples

"Callous, unemotional children can sometimes become adult sociopaths."

Etymology

From Latin callōsus (“hard-skinned”), from callum (“hardened skin”) + -ōsus.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.