callous

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Cruel and uncaring about other people's feelings or suffering.

   She was so callous that she mocked a sick man to his face.

2. 2
   adj

   (Of skin) hardened and thickened with calluses.

   Years of manual work had left his hands rough and callous.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Callous comes from Latin callosus, meaning “hard-skinned,” and originally described physically hardened skin. By the mid-17th century it had developed the figurative sense “insensitive to other people’s feelings.”

From Latin callōsus (“hard-skinned”), from callum (“hardened skin”) + -ōsus.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary