heartless C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈhɑrtləs/ UK /ˈhɑːtləs/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj lacking compassion or feeling; cruelly indifferent It was heartless of them to evict the family in the dead of winter. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · lacking compassion or... cruelcallousunfeelingmercilesscoldpitiless ↔ Opposites compassionatekindmercifultenderhumane Word family Forms heartlesslyheartlessness Derived forms heartlesslyheartlessness Related forms heart Etymology AI details From Old English heortlēas ('dispirited'), from heorte ('heart') plus -lēas ('without, -less'); the modern sense of 'cruel, unfeeling' developed later. heorte Old English *hertô Proto-Germanic View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # heartless **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈhɑrtləs/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈhɑːtləs/ ## Meanings 1. lacking compassion or feeling; cruelly indifferent ## Examples - It was heartless of them to evict the family in the dead of winter. ## Synonyms - cruel - callous - unfeeling - merciless - cold - pitiless ## Antonyms - compassionate - kind - merciful - tender - humane ## Derived Forms - heartlessly - heartlessness ## Related Forms - heart ## Roots and Affixes - Root: heorte - Root: *hertô ## Etymology From Old English heortlēas ('dispirited'), from heorte ('heart') plus -lēas ('without, -less'); the modern sense of 'cruel, unfeeling' developed later. ## AI Etymology Heartless comes from Old English heortlēas ('dispirited'), from heorte ('heart') plus -lēas ('without, -less'); the modern sense of 'cruel, unfeeling' developed later. The etymological trail includes Old English heorte and Proto-Germanic *hertô. As an adjective, heartless describes what is lacking compassion or feeling; cruelly indifferent. The same family is visible in derived forms such as heartlessly and heartlessness and related forms such as heart. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown