HARD-HEARTED Synonyms: 113 Similar and Opposite Words

hard-hearted

adjective

ˈhärd-ˈhär-təd

Definition of hard-hearted

as in ruthless

having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings a hard-hearted brush-off to a homeless man asking for money

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hard-hearted Yet the very readiness with which the hard-hearted General Tilney believes this account suggests that he is used to reliable reports of other people’s wealth. — Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2025 That makes perfect sense to all but the closed-minded or hard-hearted. — Jim Newton, Mercury News, 27 June 2025 And each registered the other’s contention with the hard-hearted energy of her own physical craving. — Jim Shepard, New Yorker, 8 June 2025 Joel, a hard-hearted smuggler, and Ellie, a headstrong teenager immune to the fungal pandemic that’s decimated the planet. — Adam B. Vary, Variety, 5 Mar. 2025 The hard-hearted treatment of men is on full display throughout Cecot. — David Culver, CNN, 6 Nov. 2024 In the face of such terror, even hard-hearted Sam has to crumble. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 27 June 2024

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-hearted

Adjective

Once the ruthless commander of Bosnian Serb forces, Mladic oversaw the siege of Sarajevo, mass killings and the 1995 Srebrenica massacre that left more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys dead.

— Jovana Gec, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter, like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

— Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of ruthless

Adjective

Oscar Wilde, for example, reposes beneath a hulking deity whose iconoclastic castration, back in 1961, did little to restrain pilgrims seeking to smear red lips across his stony physique.

— Emily Cox, ARTnews.com, 22 May 2026
Instead of looking like a sleek urban loft, the room can quickly start to feel cold, stony, and impersonal.

— Natasha Bazika, Martha Stewart, 9 May 2026

Definition of stony

Browse Nearby Words

hardheads

hard-hearted

hard-heartedly

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“Hard-hearted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-hearted. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of hard-hearted

adjective

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