Heartless

//ˈhɑːt.lɪs// adj

adj ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Without feeling, emotion, or concern for others; uncaring; cruel.

    "His heartless actions and cold manner left her saddened and feeling alone."

  2. 2
    Without a physical heart.
  3. 3
    Listless, unenthusiastic. archaic

    "Near-synonyms: spiritless, unhearty"

  4. 4
    Without courage; fearful, cowardly. obsolete

    "Cecilia then, though almost heartless, resolved upon talking with Mr. Harrel himself […]."

Adjective
  1. 1
    lacking in feeling or pity or warmth wordnet
  2. 2
    devoid of courage or enthusiasm wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
hardheartedspiritlesshalfheartedunheartyacardiacaffectless

Example

More examples

"It is heartless of him to say so."

Etymology

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

More for "heartless"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

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