unfeeling

/ʌn'fi:liɳ/

Thân thiện

A judge gave an unfeeling response to the defendant's plea.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Devoid of feeling or sensation: Lacking physical sensation or awareness; insensate.
   • Devoid of feeling for others: Lacking sympathy, compassion, or emotional sensitivity; callous and hard-hearted.

Usage and Examples

• Adjective:
  • The doctor's unfeeling manner made the bad news even harder to bear. (Describes a person lacking compassion.)
  • He stared with unfeeling eyes at the suffering of the animals. (Describes a gaze devoid of empathy.)
  • The unfeeling stone bore no trace of the ancient carving. (Describes an inanimate object lacking sensation.)

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• "Unfeeling" as a Character Trait: Often used to describe a persistent, negative quality of a person's character, suggesting cruelty or indifference rather than a temporary state.
  • History remembers him as an unfeeling tyrant.
• Literary/Descriptive Use: Can be applied poetically to inanimate objects or nature to emphasize their cold, impersonal quality.
  • The unfeeling wind tore through the village.

Variants and Related Words

• Unfeelingly (adverb): In a manner that shows no sympathy or emotion.
  • He unfeelingly dismissed their pleas for help.
• Unfeelingness (noun): The state or quality of being unfeeling.
  • The unfeelingness of the bureaucracy was frustrating.

Synonyms

• Callous: Showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others.
• Heartless: Displaying a complete lack of pity or warmth.
• Insensitive: Showing or feeling no concern for others' feelings.
• Cold-hearted: Lacking affection or warmth; unfeeling.
• Hard-hearted: Incapable of being moved to pity or tenderness.

Antonyms

• Compassionate: Feeling or showing sympathy and concern for others.
• Sympathetic: Feeling, showing, or expressing sympathy.
• Sensitive: Quick to detect or respond to slight changes, signals, or influences; also, having or showing sensitivity to others' feelings.
• Kind-hearted: Having a kind and sympathetic nature.

Idiomatic Expressions and Phrases

• "An unfeeling brute/wretch": A common collocation emphasizing a person's complete lack of humane qualities.
  • Only an unfeeling brute could ignore such a desperate cry for help.
• "Cold and unfeeling": A reinforcing phrase often used together for emphasis.
  • Her response was cold and unfeeling.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. devoid of feeling or sensation
   • unfeeling trees
2. devoid of feeling for others
   • an unfeeling wretch

Từ đồng nghĩa

• hardhearted
• stonyhearted