Meanings
comparative more callous · superlative most callous
- figurativelyEmotionally hardened; unfeeling and indifferent to the suffering/feelings of others.
She was so callous that she could criticise a cancer patient for wearing a wig.
1 more example
Re-watching some of the audition rounds of these shows now, you're struck by how callous the judges' comments often were, and how they presented a cruel spectacle in which the audience were set up to laugh at the "deluded" members of the public who believed they could sing.
2021 September 15, Laura Martin, “How talent shows became TV's most bizarre programmes”, in BBCSynonyms: heartless, insensitive, brutal, cold, insensate, hardhanded, cold-eyed, cruel
plural callouses
- alternativeAlternative form of callus.
Hanson was beginning to feel annoyance at the suddenly cocksure and unsympathetic girl, but he stood fully erect and flexed his muscles. There wasn't even a trace of bedsoreness, though he had been flat on his back long enough to grow callouses.
1963, Lester del Rey, The Sky Is Falling
present singular third person callouses · participle present callousing · participle past calloused · past calloused
- alternativeAlternative form of callus.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveEmotionally hardened; unfeeling and indifferent to the suffering/feelings of others.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveemotionally hardened
adjectivehaving calluses; having skin made tough and thick through wear
verbmake insensitive or callous; deaden feelings or morals
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latincallōsus“hard-skinned”
- Englishcallous
From Latin callōsus (“hard-skinned”), from callum (“hardened skin”) + -ōsus.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian безчувствен, безсърдечен
- безчувствен (bezčuvstven)emotionally hardened
- безсърдечен (bezsărdečen)emotionally hardened
- мазолест (mazolest)having calluses
Catalan insensible, cruel
- insensibleemotionally hardened
- cruelemotionally hardened
- callóshaving calluses
Chinese Mandarin 無情的 /无情的, 鐵石心腸的 /铁石心肠的
- 無情的 /无情的 (wúqíng de)emotionally hardened
- 鐵石心腸的 /铁石心肠的 (tiěshí xīncháng de)emotionally hardened
Czech otrlý
- otrlýemotionally hardened
Danish følelseskold, hjerteløs
- følelseskoldemotionally hardened
- hjerteløsemotionally hardened
- ubarmhjertigemotionally hardened
Dutch ongevoelig, hard
- ongevoeligemotionally hardened
- hardemotionally hardened
- gevoelloosemotionally hardened
- botemotionally hardened
- harteloosemotionally hardened
- afgestomptemotionally hardened
- eeltighaving calluses
Finnish tunteeton, kylmä
- tunteetonemotionally hardened
- kylmäemotionally hardened
- sydämetönemotionally hardened
- känsäinenhaving calluses
French endurci, sans-cœur
- endurciemotionally hardened
- sans-cœuremotionally hardened
- insensibleemotionally hardened
- calleuxhaving calluses
German gefühllos, verhärtet
- gefühllosemotionally hardened
- verhärtetemotionally hardened
- abgestumpftemotionally hardened
- herzlosemotionally hardened
- schwielighaving calluses
Greek σκληρόκαρδος, άκαρδος
- σκληρόκαρδος (sklirókardos)emotionally hardened
- άκαρδος (ákardos)emotionally hardened
Hungarian kérges, keményszívű
- kérgesemotionally hardened
- keményszívűemotionally hardened
- érzéketlenemotionally hardened
- kérgeshaving calluses
- bőrkeményedéseshaving calluses
Icelandic kaldgeðja, tilfinningalaus
- kaldgeðjaemotionally hardened
- tilfinningalausemotionally hardened
- harðgeðjaemotionally hardened
- harðlynduremotionally hardened
- harðbrjóstaemotionally hardened
- fólskuleguremotionally hardened
Irish cranrach, fadharcánach
- cranrachhaving calluses
- fadharcánachhaving calluses
Italian cinico, insensibile
- cinicoemotionally hardened
- insensibileemotionally hardened
- callosohaving calluses
Latin callōsus
- callōsushaving calluses
Lithuanian bejausmis
- bejausmisemotionally hardened
Māori ueke, ngākau-rahirahi
- uekeemotionally hardened
- ngākau-rahirahiemotionally hardened
- tītongaemotionally hardened
- uekehaving calluses
- utongahaving calluses
- raupāhaving calluses
Norwegian Bokmål følelseskald, følelsesløs
- følelseskaldemotionally hardened
- følelsesløsemotionally hardened
- hjerteløsemotionally hardened
- ufølsomemotionally hardened
- avstumpetemotionally hardened
- forherdetemotionally hardened
Polish bezduszny, nieczuły
- bezdusznyemotionally hardened
- nieczułyemotionally hardened
- zgrubiałyhaving calluses
- zrogowaciałyhaving calluses
Portuguese insensível
- insensívelemotionally hardened
Romanian nesimțit, insensibil
- nesimțitemotionally hardened
- insensibilemotionally hardened
- fără inimăemotionally hardened
Russian чёрствый, бессерде́чный
- чёрствый (čórstvyj)emotionally hardened
- бессерде́чный (besserdéčnyj)emotionally hardened
- безду́шный (bezdúšnyj)emotionally hardened
- бесчу́вственный (besčúvstvennyj)emotionally hardened
- мозо́листый (mozólistyj)having calluses
Spanish insensible, cruel
- insensibleemotionally hardened
- cruelemotionally hardened
- desconsideradoemotionally hardened
- callosohaving calluses
Swedish känslolös, känslokall
- känslolösemotionally hardened
- känslokallemotionally hardened
- hjärtlösemotionally hardened
Turkish katı, nasırlı
- katıemotionally hardened
- nasırlıhaving calluses
Ukrainian безду́шний, безсерде́чний
- безду́шний (bezdúšnyj)emotionally hardened
- безсерде́чний (bezserdéčnyj)emotionally hardened
- нечу́лий (nečúlyj)emotionally hardened
- зачерстві́лий (začerstvílyj)emotionally hardened
- загрубі́лий (zahrubílyj)emotionally hardened
- мозоля́стий (mozoljástyj)having calluses
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with callous
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Cite this entry
callous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/callous
“callous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/callous. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “callous,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/callous.
Source: callous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.