heartless

English

Etymology

FromMiddle Englishhertles,herteles,fromOld Englishheortlēas(“without courage; listless”),equivalent toheart+‎-less.

Pronunciation

• (General American)IPA^(key):/ˈhɑɹt.lɪs/
• (Received Pronunciation)IPA^(key):/ˈhɑːt.lɪs/

• Audio(US):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-ɑː(ɹ)tlɪs
• Hyphenation:heart‧less

Adjective

heartless(comparativemoreheartless,superlativemostheartless)

2. Withoutfeeling,emotion,orconcernfor others;uncaring;cruel.[from 16th c.]

   Synonyms:cold-hearted,uncordial

   Antonyms:hearty,heartful;cordial

   Coordinate terms:soulless,thoughtless,mindless

   Hisheartlessactions and cold manner left her saddened and feeling alone.

   • 1982August 14, Michael Bronski, “If You Hated The Book You'll Loathe The Movie”, inGay Community News,volume10,number 5, page11:

     The world is a dangerous, violent place[…]and the only true refuge from thisheartlessworld is the family.

   • 2012April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, inThe A.V. Club‎^[1]:

     Mr. Burns is similarly perfectly cast as aheartlesscapitalist 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.

4. Without a physicalheart.[from 15th c.]

   Synonym:acardiac

6. (nowrare)Listless,unenthusiastic.[from 14th c.]

   Antonyms:hearty,heartful

   Coordinate term:halfhearted

   Near-synonyms:spiritless,unhearty

8. (obsolete)Withoutcourage;fearful,cowardly.[10th–19th c.]

   Synonyms:spineless,gutless,unhearty;see alsoThesaurus:cowardly

   Antonym:dauntless

   • 1782,Frances Burney,Cecilia,II.iii.7:

     Cecilia then, though almostheartless,resolved upon talking with Mr. Harrel himself […].

Derived terms

• heartlessly
• heartlessness

Translations

without feeling

• Bulgarian:безсърдечен(bg)(bezsǎrdečen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Tàn nhẫn／Tàn nhẫn(zh)(cánrěn),Vô tình／Vô tình(zh)(wúqíng)

• Danish:hjerteløs
• Esperanto:senkora
• Finnish:sydämetön(fi)
• French:sans-cœur(fr)
• German:herzlos(de)
• Greek:άκαρδος(el)(ákardos)

  Ancient:ἄστοργος(ástorgos)

• Hungarian:szívtelen(hu)
• Japanese:Vô tình(ja)(むじょう, mujō)
• Latin:insensibilis,socors
• Macedonian:бездушен(bezdušen)
• Norwegian:hjerteløs
• Persian:بیدل(phát)(bidel)
• Polish:bez serca(pl),bezduszny(pl),bezserdeczny(dated)
• Portuguese:semcoração
• Russian:бессерде́чный(ru)(besserdéčnyj),безду́шный(ru)(bezdúšnyj)
• Slovak:bezcitný
• Spanish:cruel(es),desalmado(es)
• Swedish:hjärtlös(sv)
• Ukrainian:безсерде́чний(uk)(bezserdéčnyj)

Anagrams

• Earthless,Latherses,earthless,hartlesse,shearlets