Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The state of being callous.
  • noun Insensibility of mind or heart.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun lack of passion or feeling.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The quality of being callous; emotional hardheartedness or indifference.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun devoid of passion or feeling; hardheartedness

Etymologies

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Examples

  • There are orders of magnitude difference in callousness between the first two groups, and as between us and the third group the differences may be entirely philosophical.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » “Activist Government” and the Rights of Minorities 2010

  • Until that time when the meaning of it all shall flash out upon the world, the race will be hidebound in callousness and in faint-hearted melancholy.

    The Kempton-Wace Letters 2010

  • There are orders of magnitude difference in callousness between the first two groups, and as between us and the third group the differences may be entirely philosophical.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » “Activist Government” and the Rights of Minorities 2010

  • They have compounded their original sin -- callousness in handing over kiddies to aliens -- by hiding it.

    TORCHWOOD: CoE...Episode 2...things go to pieces rabid1st 2009

  • For one thing, the bad acting and script-writing lend it a certain callousness: not only does a man skip off to church and leave the dead body of his buddy by the side of the road, but Pirkle singles him out during his sermon and tells him in front of a crowded room that his pal is damned forever and that he likely is, too.

    Archive 2007-09-01 2007

  • For one thing, the bad acting and script-writing lend it a certain callousness: not only does a man skip off to church and leave the dead body of his buddy by the side of the road, but Pirkle singles him out during his sermon and tells him in front of a crowded room that his pal is damned forever and that he likely is, too.

    The Burning Hell 2007

  • To find this amusing shows a certain callousness toward other human beings.

    EXTRALIFE – By Scott Johnson - What is wrong with day time TV? 2006

  • The soldier wanted assistance and all he got was the usual dodge drafting sociopathic callousness from a man who was choking back a scolding of the plebe for criticizing him.

    Think Progress » VIDEO: Rumsfeld Confronted By Soldier Over Equipment Shortages In Iraq 2006

  • Confining the insane in close quarters was only a reflection of the prevailing standard of living rather than an expression of callousness.15

    The Mad Among Us Gerald N. Grob 1994

  • Confining the insane in close quarters was only a reflection of the prevailing standard of living rather than an expression of callousness.15

    The Mad Among Us Gerald N. Grob 1994

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