Standard Lemma guide

heartless

adj · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈhɑːt.lɪs/
  • General-American: /ˈhɑɹt.lɪs/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)tlɪs
  • CMU ARPABET: HH AA1 R T L AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Without feeling, emotion, or concern for others; uncaring; cruel.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • His heartless actions and cold manner left her saddened and feeling alone.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cold-hearted, uncordial, brutal, callous, cold, cold-eyed, cruel, dour, flint-hearted, forbidding, frosty, grim, hard, hard-boiled, hardened, hardhearted, heartless, harsh, humorless, icy, iron-hearted, insensate, insensitive, marble-hearted, rigorous, rockhearted, severe, stern, stonehearted, stony, stonyhearted, strict, tough, unsympathetic, unmoved

Antonyms: hearty, heartful, cordial

2

adj

Meaning 2

Without a physical heart.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: acardiac

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Listless, unenthusiastic.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: spiritless, unhearty

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: spiritless, unhearty

Antonyms: hearty, heartful, adiaphroistic, apathetic, apathistical, blasé, blithe, deaf, cool, shiftless, dispassionate, dull, enervated, gallionic, halfhearted, heartless, impassive, ineffervescible, insouciant, indifferent, insensible, jaded, languid, languorous, Laodicean, lethargic, listless, lackadaisical, lotophagous, lukewarm, meh, mopey, nonchalant, nonplussed, otiose, phlegmatic, pococurante, spiritless, supine, tepid, torpid, torpedinous, unaroused, uncaring, unconcerned, unenthusiastic, unimpressible, uninterested, unlively, unmoved, untouched, unzealous, world-weary

4

adj

Meaning 4

Without courage; fearful, cowardly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: spineless, gutless, unhearty, backboneless, base, bitch-ass, boneless, caitiff, candy-assed, chicken, chicken-hearted, chicken-livered, chickenshit, courageless, cowardish, cowardly, cowardy, cowhearted, cowish, craven, cravenhearted, cringey, dastard, dastardly, dickless, dough-faced, fainthearted, fearful, fraidy, gizzardless, heartless, invalorous, invertebrate, hen-hearted, kiasi, lily-livered, liver-faced, liver-hearted, low-hearted, miching, milky, milk-livered, mouse-hearted, mousy, nerveless, niddering, nidering, niding, nithing, nutless, pigeon-livered, poltroonish, poor-spirited, punk, pusillanimous, pussylike, ratlike, rabbit-hearted, recrayed, retromingent, sissy, timid, timorous, weak-kneed, white-hearted, white-livered, wimpish, yellow, yellow-bellied

Antonyms: dauntless

5

adjective

Meaning 5

lacking in feeling or pity or warmth

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hardhearted

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

devoid of courage or enthusiasm

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English hertles, herteles, from Old English heortlēas (“without courage; listless”), equivalent to heart + -less. Cognate with German herzlos.

Across languages

Translations

31 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: безсърдечен (bezsǎrdečen) — without feeling
  • Chinese Mandarin: 殘忍 /残忍 (cánrěn) — without feeling
  • Chinese Mandarin: 無情 /无情 (wúqíng) — without feeling
  • Danish: hjerteløs — without feeling
  • Esperanto: senkora — without feeling
  • Finnish: sydämetön — without feeling
  • French: sans-cœur — without feeling
  • German: herzlos — without feeling
  • Greek: άκαρδος (ákardos) — without feeling
  • Ancient Greek: ἄστοργος (ástorgos) — without feeling
  • Hindi: निर्दयी (nirdayī) — without feeling
  • Hungarian: szívtelen — without feeling
  • Japanese: 無情 (mujō) — without feeling
  • Latin: insensibilis — without feeling
  • Latin: socors — without feeling
  • Macedonian: бездушен (bezdušen) — without feeling
  • Māori: ngākaukore — without feeling
  • Māori: tītonga — without feeling
  • Norwegian: hjerteløs — without feeling
  • Persian: بیدل (bidel) — without feeling
  • Polish: bez serca — without feeling
  • Polish: bezduszny — without feeling
  • Polish: bezserdeczny — without feeling
  • Portuguese: sem coração — without feeling
  • Russian: бессерде́чный (besserdéčnyj) — without feeling
  • Russian: безду́шный (bezdúšnyj) — without feeling
  • Slovak: bezcitný — without feeling
  • Spanish: cruel — without feeling
  • Spanish: desalmado — without feeling
  • Swedish: hjärtlös — without feeling
  • Ukrainian: безсерде́чний (bezserdéčnyj) — without feeling