callousness
Americannoun
-
the quality of being insensitive, indifferent, or unsympathetic; hardness of heart.
Cutting off the unemployed from their benefits is a sad blend of callousness—a complete lack of empathy for the unfortunate—and unsound economics.
-
a hardened or thickened condition of the skin or other tissue.
Razors and shaving cause a callousness of the skin, which will encourage heavier hair growth and irritation.
Other Word Forms
- uncallousness noun
Etymology
Origin of callousness
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We knew this from past cross-country trips, but we felt surprised all over again—perhaps because of the callousness we perceive among people we see in the news.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 8, 2025
As Kilgore, Duvall captures this callousness in a famous scene.
From Salon • Sep. 9, 2025
It was the first operation Martino has witnessed and she said it underscores the disturbing callousness of how they are being conducted.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2025
One cannot demonstrate this like a mathematical proof, but this carelessness, or callousness, about human life seems linked to fatalistic, even nihilistic attitudes.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2025
They need their callousness, they need their ignorance.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
