heartlessly
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adverb: * In a manner that is completely lacking in sympathy, kindness, or pity; cruelly and without compassion.
Usage
The adverb "heartlessly" is used to describe how an action is performed. It modifies verbs to indicate that the action was done in a cruel, unfeeling, or merciless way. It often carries a strong negative judgment.
Examples
- The landlord heartlessly evicted the family just before the holidays.
- He heartlessly ignored the pleas for help from the injured animal.
- The critic heartlessly mocked the young artist's first exhibition.
Advanced Usage
- "to act heartlessly": To behave in a cruel and unfeeling manner.
- The corporation acted heartlessly by laying off thousands of workers without severance.
- "to be heartlessly efficient": To perform a task with such ruthless effectiveness that human feelings are completely disregarded.
- The new manager was heartlessly efficient, focusing only on numbers and quotas.
Variants and Related Words
- Heartless (adjective): Lacking in feeling or compassion; unkind.
- A heartless decision.
- Heartlessness (noun): The quality or state of being heartless.
- The heartlessness of the crime shocked the community.
Synonyms
- Cruelly
- Mercilessly
- Callously
- Unfeelingly
- Ruthlessly
Antonyms
- Compassionately
- Kindly
- Sympathetically
- Mercifully
Related Phrases
- With a heart of stone: (Idiom) Describing someone who is very cold and unfeeling.
- He dismissed their suffering with a heart of stone.
- Without a shred of pity/mercy: (Phrase) Acting with complete absence of compassion.
- The tyrant ruled without a shred of mercy.
Adverb
- in a heartless manner
- she behaves rather heartlessly toward her admirers