callous

English

Etymology

From Latin callōsus (“hard-skinned”), from callum (“hardened skin”) + -ōsus.

Pronunciation

(UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈkæləs/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Rhymes: -æləs
Homophone: callus

Adjective

callous (comparative more callous, superlative most callous)

(figurative) Emotionally 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.
- 2021 September 15, Laura Martin, “How talent shows became TV's most bizarre programmes”, in BBC‎:
  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.
(literally) Having calluses, or relating to calluses.

Synonyms

(figurative sense): heartless, insensitive
(literal sense): callousy, callusy, calloused, callused

Related terms

callously
callousness
callus

Translations

emotionally hardened

Bulgarian: безчувствен (bg) (bezčuvstven), безсърдечен (bg) (bezsǎrdečen)
Catalan: insensible (ca) m, cruel (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 無情的／无情的 (zh) (wúqíng de), 鐵石心腸的／铁石心肠的 (zh) (tiěshí xīncháng de)
Czech: otrlý
Dutch: ongevoelig (nl), hard (nl), gevoelloos (nl), bot (nl), harteloos (nl), afgestompt (nl)
Finnish: tunteeton (fi), kylmä (fi), sydämetön (fi)
French: endurci (fr), sans-cœur (fr), insensible (fr) m or f
Galician: frío (gl) m, indolente m, insensible (gl) m, desconsiderado m, endurecido m, cínico (gl) m
German: gefühllos (de), verhärtet (de), abgestumpft, herzlos (de)
Gothic: 𐌳𐌰𐌿𐍆𐍃 (daufs)
Greek: σκληρόκαρδος (el) (sklirókardos), άκαρδος (el) (ákardos)
Hungarian: kérges (hu), keményszívű (hu), érzéketlen (hu)
Icelandic: kaldgeðja m, tilfinningalaus (is) m, harðgeðja m, harðlyndur m, harðbrjósta m, fólskulegur (is) m
Italian: cinico (it), insensibile (it)
Lithuanian: bejausmis
Maori: ueke, ngākau-rahirahi, tītonga
Plautdietsch: onemfintlich
Polish: bezduszny (pl), nieczuły (pl)
Portuguese: insensível (pt)
Romanian: nesimțit (ro), duritate (ro), insensibil (ro), fără inimă
Russian: чёрствый (ru) (čórstvyj), бессерде́чный (ru) (besserdéčnyj), безду́шный (ru) (bezdúšnyj), бесчу́вственный (ru) (besčúvstvennyj)
Serbo-Croatian: nemilosrdan (sh), bezosjećajan, tvrd (sh)
Spanish: insensible (es), cruel (es), desconsiderado (es)
Swedish: känslolös (sv), känslokall (sv), hjärtlös (sv)
Turkish: katı (tr)

having calluses

Bulgarian: мазолест (mazolest)
Catalan: callós (ca) m
Dutch: eeltig (nl)
Finnish: känsäinen
German: schwielig (de)
Hungarian: kérges (hu), bőrkeményedéses (hu)
Irish: cranrach, fadharcánach
Italian: calloso (it)
Latin: callōsus
Maori: ueke, utonga, raupā
Old English: wearriht
Polish: zgrubiały, zrogowaciały
Russian: мозо́листый (ru) (mozólistyj)
Serbo-Croatian: žuljevit (sh), kalozan
Spanish: calloso (es)
Turkish: nasırlı (tr)

Noun

callous (plural callouses)

Alternative form of callus

Verb

callous (third-person singular simple present callouses, present participle callousing, simple past and past participle calloused)

Alternative form of callus