cal·lous

(kăl′əs)

adj.

1. Having calluses; toughened: callous skin on the elbow.

2. Emotionally hardened; unfeeling: a callous indifference to the suffering of others.

tr. & intr.v. cal·loused, cal·lous·ing, cal·lous·es

To make or become callous.

[Middle English, from Old French cailleux, from Latin callōsus, from callum, hard skin.]

cal′lous·ly adv.

cal′lous·ness n.

Usage Note: Do not confuse the adjective callous, as in Years of dealing with criminals had left her callous, with the noun callus, as in I have a callus on my thumb. Also, do not confuse the verb callous, which means "to make or become callous," with the verb callus "to form or develop hardened tissue."

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adv.

callously - in a callous way; "he callously exploited their feelings"

unfeelingly

callously

adverb heartlessly, coldly, harshly, brutally, insensitively, obdurately, unfeelingly, soullessly, hardheartedly He is accused of callously ill-treating his wife.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

بِغَلاظَه، بِقَشْوَه

bezcitněnecitlivětvrdě

følelseskoldthårdhudethjerteløst

abgebrüht

durement

érzéketlenül

harîneskjulega

crudelmente

hjerteløst ufølsomt

duygusuzca

无情地

callously

[ˈkæləslɪ] ADV → despiadadamente, cruelmente

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

callously

[ˈkæləsli] adv [ignore, abandon, reject] → durement

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

callously

adv → herzlos

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

callously

[ˈkæləslɪ] adv (behave) → in modo insensibile; (speak) → con durezza; (decide) → cinicamente

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

callous

(ˈkӕləs) adjective

unfeeling; cruel. a callous person/attack.

ˈcallously adverb

ˈcallousness noun

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

In the flood of soft light the winged youths and the butterfly women reappeared on the panels, affected, gorgeous, callously unconscious of anything having happened during their absence.

View in context

For a long time Bert could not imagine what these callously active offices could be, then he detected the noise of the presses and emitted his "Gaw!"

View in context

Caroline Abrahams, Age UK charity director, said: "Fraudsters will often callously target older people with scams, preying on vulnerabilities such as loneliness, fi-nancial pressures, health conditions and bereavement.

Appeal to keep eye on elderly residents; STAR BRIEFING

TWO kittens were callously hurled over a garden fence and "dumped like rubbish".

Kittens 'dumped like rubbish'

The Tories are either blind to the misery they are inflicting or callously indifferent.

Poverty trap; VOICE OF THE

MRS May's intransigence over her precious deal, which isn't a deal and which nobody likes, could well lead to the spectre of No-Deal by default - even though she callously uses the threat of No-Deal as a tactic to scare the Commons into caving in.

No-Deal by default?

Killing our beautiful badgers needlessly and callously would not only breach the rules - it would be the terrible destruction of one of our countryside's most popular creatures.

Stop cruel cull; VOICE OF THE

As millionaires get a huge tax cut, disabled people are seeing their benefits callously withdrawn and whittled away.

WELFARE and spending cuts [...]

Households across Scotland, including Tom and Fiona's and countless others, know only too well how callously untrue that is.

Workers' hell; RecordView

The Tories are callously indifferent of their savage cuts beginning to provoke uproar around the country.

Hain attacked for TUC rally decision; WALES newsbulletin

THE Thandi brothers forfeited any right which they might have had to develop any building on Castle Hill when they callously disregarded the strictures placed upon them by the planning committee.

I fear for the future; MAILBAG

A MIDLAND drug dealer has been convicted of callously cutting off part of a woman's ear and shooting a man.

Drug dealer convicted of attack