cold-hearted

cold-hearted — adjective

1. describes a person who shows no care, pity, or warmth toward other people's prob

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes a person who shows no care, pity, or warmth toward other people's problems or suffering — for example, refusing to help a family member in need or laughing at someone else's misfortune.

Example

Christopher gave a cold-hearted laugh when his friend lost his job.

collocation: cold-hearted + laugh

The landlord's cold-hearted eviction left the family with nowhere to go.

pattern: cold-hearted [noun] describing an action

Common collocations
  • cold-hearted person
  • cold-hearted decision
  • cold-hearted attitude
  • cold-hearted reaction
  • cold-hearted treatment
  • cold-hearted laugh
  • cold-hearted way
Synonyms
  • heartless

    stronger and more direct than cold-hearted; implies active cruelty rather than just emotional distance

  • callous

    emphasizes a hardened indifference, especially when pity is expected

  • unfeeling

    more formal; focuses on absence of emotional response rather than active unkindness

  • cold-blooded

    the strongest term; suggests someone plans harmful actions with no guilt, often used about violence

Antonyms
  • warm-hearted

    describes someone who shows kindness and genuine concern for others

  • compassionate

    emphasizes active sympathy and a desire to help those who suffer

  • kind

    a general term for a caring and gentle nature

Grammar Patterns

cold-hearted + noun

be cold-hearted

it is cold-hearted of someone + to-infinitive

Usage Note

This word is a strong criticism of someone's character. It implies a deliberate lack of sympathy rather than simple carelessness. Commonly used with nouns such as person, attitude, decision, reaction, and treatment.

Common Mistakes

The weather feels cold-hearted today.
The weather feels bitterly cold today.
cold-hearted describes people and their actions, not physical temperature.

Word family

  • cold-heartedly
    adverbC1
  • cold-heartedness
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Cold-hearted, heartless, callous, unfeeling, and cold-blooded all describe a lack of sympathy or warmth toward others, but they differ in strength and nuance. Cold-hearted suggests a chilly emotional distance — the person is simply not moved by other people's suffering. Heartless is stronger and more direct, implying active cruelty, as if the person has no heart at all. Callous emphasizes a hardened indifference that develops over time, especially in situations where pity would be natural. Unfeeling is a more formal word that focuses on the absence of emotional response rather than active malice. Cold-blooded is the most extreme: it describes someone who deliberately plans harmful actions with no guilt or hesitation, and is frequently used in the context of violence or crime. A cold-hearted boss might ignore an employee's personal problems, while a cold-blooded killer shows no remorse whatsoever.

heartless ↗callousunfeeling ↗cold-blooded ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • cold-heartedly

Phrases

  • cold-hearted and uncaring

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Formed by combining 'cold' (from Old English cald/ceald, meaning lacking warmth) with 'hearted', the adjectival form of 'heart' (from Old English heorte). The compound emerged in English around the early 1600s as a figurative extension: just as cold temperatures lack physical warmth, a cold-hearted person lacks emotional warmth or compassion toward others.