cold-hearted

[kohld-hahr-tid]

adjective

1. lacking sympathy or feeling; indifferent; unkind.

cold-hearted

adjective

1. lacking in feeling or warmth; unkind

Other Word Forms

• cold-heartedness noun
• cold-heartedly adverb
• coldheartedly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cold-hearted¹

First recorded in 1600–10

Example Sentences

There is plenty of cold-hearted, merciless darkness, compulsive behavior and, of course, ill-fated love of all kinds.

From Salon

I am not cold-hearted enough to want any of these characters to depart mid-crisis or accept less than a happy life.

From Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile, she has called CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins a “cold-hearted b***h” and celebrated MSNBC’s firing of Joy Reid, whom she called “the most racist person on television.”

From Salon

Madera described Sardinha’s death as “cold-hearted murder” and pointed to the voicemail she left in her last moments.

From Los Angeles Times

“Dead Outlaw” evokes at moments the droll perversity of “Sweeney Todd,” the cold-hearted glee of “Assassins” and the Brechtian skewering of “Road Show” — Sondheim musicals that fly in the face of conventional musical theater wisdom.

From Los Angeles Times