unfeeling

adjective

un·​feel·​ing ˌən-ˈfē-liŋ 

1

: devoid of feeling : insensate

an unfeeling corpse

2

: lacking kindness or sympathy : hard-hearted

an unfeeling brute

unfeelingly

ˌən-ˈfē-liŋ-lē 

adverb

unfeelingness noun

Synonyms

• affectless
• callous
• case-hardened
• cold-blooded
• compassionless
• desensitized
• hard
• hard-boiled
• hard-hearted
• heartless
• indurate
• inhuman
• inhumane
• insensate
• insensitive
• ironhearted
• merciless
• obdurate
• pachydermatous
• pitiless
• remorseless
• ruthless
• slash-and-burn
• soulless
• stony
• stoney
• stonyhearted
• take-no-prisoners
• thick-skinned
• uncharitable
• unmerciful
• unsparing
• unsympathetic

Examples of unfeeling in a Sentence

She says the most unfeeling things.

How can you be so cold and unfeeling?

Recent Examples on the Web

The author renders the four-year-old Margaret’s inner life with sensitive complexity, depicting an alert child logic that defies adults’ view of her as slow and unfeeling. —The New Yorker, 12 June 2024

That’s because for decades, reptiles have been characterized as cold, unfeeling, and even primitive creatures. —Lily Carey, Discover Magazine, 8 Apr. 2024

But as the film unspools and Agent Smith comes face to face with Neo and his master Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), Weaving begins showing signs that this AI is not so unfeeling, not so unbothered after all. —Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2024

Theirs is a vast and unfeeling appetite for reassurance, and it must not be given room to grow. —Harper's BAZAAR, 27 June 2023

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

unfeeling

adjective

un·​feel·​ing ˌən-ˈfē-liŋ 

1

: lacking feeling : insensate

2

: lacking kindness or sympathy : hard-hearted, cruel

unfeelingly adverb

unfeelingness noun