heartless
pronunciation
How to pronounce heartless in British English:
UK [ˈhɑ:tləs]
How to pronounce heartless in American English:
US [ˈhɑrtləs]
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- Adjective:
- marked by lack of heart or feeling
- lacking in feeling or pity or warmth
- devoid of courage or enthusiasm
Word Origin
- heartless (adj.)
- Old English heortleas "dispirited, dejected;" see heart (n.) + -less. In Middle English with expanded senses "lacking in courage; foolish; listless; half-hearted; sluggish." Sense of "callous, cruel, wanting in kindly feeling" is not certainly attested before Shelley used it in 1816. Literal meaning "lacking a heart, lifeless" (mid-15c.) is rare. Related: Heartlessly; heartlessness. Similar formation in Dutch harteloos, German herzlos.
Example
- 1. Moving somebody out of his home quickly may sound heartless ; but stretching the process out is a bad idea .
- 2. Moreover , the aftermath of this prayer ( on which we shall reflect tomorrow ) is pretty heartless , isn 't it ?
- 3. And it may soften germany 's image as the heartless enforcer of austerity .
- 4. I draw the trifling issue of a few billion fatalities to your attention not to make you look like a heartless fascist but because it 's a reality with which you refuse to engage .
- 5. Even if I accepted this loaded claim , which seems designed to make me look like a heartless fascist , it would get us nowhere because a retooled status quo is a fantasy and even you are close to admitting it .