Crossword Dictionary
HEARTLESS
heartless - a
devoid of courage or enthusiasm
Synonyms
brutal, callous, cold-blooded, cruel, harsh, inhuman, insensitive, merciless, ruthless, uncaring, unkind
Examples
Almost all that he gained by his heartless diplomacy was a seat in the council and in the star-chamber.
Muller divides the tribe into three families, Cypridinidae, Halocypridae, and the heartless Polycopidae, which constituted the tribe Cladocopa of Sars.
My heartless mind will not allow my aching body the sleep it so desperately craves and I wander this near-empty house throughout the night.
Etymology
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 thus in 1816. Literal meaning "lacking a heart, lifeless" (mid-15c.) is rare. Related: Heartlessly; heartlessness. Similar formation in Dutch harteloos, German herzlos.