Adjacent Words

Callous definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CALLOUS, a.
1. Hard; hardened; indurated; as an ulcer or some part of the body.
2. Hardened in mind; insensible; unfeeling.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: emotionally hardened; "a callous indifference to suffering"; "cold-blooded and indurate to public opinion" [syn: callous, indurate, pachydermatous]
2: having calluses; having skin made tough and thick through wear; "calloused skin"; "with a workman's callous hands" [syn: calloused, callous, thickened] v
1: make insensitive or callous; deaden feelings or morals [syn: callous, cauterize, cauterise]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin callosus, from callum, callus callous skin Date: 15th century 1. a. being hardened and thickened b. having calluses <callous hands> 2. a. feeling no emotion b. feeling or showing no sympathy for others ; hard-hearted <a callous indifference to suffering> • callously adverb • callousness noun II. transitive verb Date: 1834 to make callous <hands calloused by hard manual labor>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 unfeeling, insensitive. 2 (of skin) hardened or hard. --n. = CALLUS 1. Derivatives: callously adv. (in sense 1 of adj.). callousness n. Etymology: ME f. L callosus (as CALLUS) or F calleux

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Callous Cal"lous, a. [L. callosus callous hard, fr. callum, callus, callous skin: cf. F. calleux.] 1. Hardened; indurated. ``A callous hand.'' --Goldsmith. ``A callous ulcer.'' --Dunglison. 2. Hardened in mind; insensible; unfeeling; unsusceptible. ``The callous diplomatist.'' --Macaulay. It is an immense blessing to be perfectly callous to ridicule. --T. Arnold. Syn: Obdurate; hard; hardened; indurated; insensible; unfeeling; unsusceptible. See Obdurate. -- Cal"lous*ly, adv. -- Cal"lous*ness, n. A callousness and numbness of soul. --Bentley.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

A callous person or action is very cruel and shows no concern for other people or their feelings. ...his callous disregard for human life. ADJ • callousness ...the callousness of Raymond's murder. N-UNCOUNT • callously He is accused of consistently and callously ill-treating his wife. ADV: ADV with v

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Indurated, hardened, hard. 2. Insensible, unfeeling, apathetic, obtuse, unsusceptible, unimpressible, sluggish, dull, torpid, indifferent, dead.

Moby Thesaurus

Philistine, anneal, apathetic, asleep, backed, benumbed, brazen, brutalize, calcified, calcify, calloused, case harden, case-hardened, cold, cold of heart, coldblooded, coldhearted, conscienceless, cornify, crusted, crusty, crystallized, dead, deadened, dull, firm, flinthearted, flinty, fossilize, fossilized, granulated, hard, hard of heart, hard-boiled, hard-nosed, harden, hardened, hardhearted, heartless, hornified, impassible, impenitent, imperceptive, impercipient, impervious, incrusted, indifferent, indurate, indurated, insensate, insensible, insensitive, insentient, insolent, inure, inured, lapidified, lapidify, lithify, lost to shame, numb, numbed, obdurate, obtuse, ossified, ossify, pachydermatous, petrified, petrify, proof against, reinforced, rigidified, sclerotic, seared, set, shameless, solidified, steel, steeled, steeled against, steely, stiffened, stony, stonyhearted, strengthened, temper, thick-skinned, thick-witted, tough, toughen, toughened, unabject, unblushing, uncaring, uncompassionate, uncontrite, unemotional, unfeeling, unfelt, unmelted, unmerciful, unnatural, unperceptive, unrepentant, unrepenting, unresponsive, unsoftened, unsympathetic, untouched, vitrified, vitrify