Pronunciation: [hˈɑːtləs] (IPA) 
The word "heartless" is spelled with a silent "e" at the end. The IPA transcription for "heartless" is /ˈhɑːtləs/. The "h" at the beginning is pronounced as in "happy". The "ea" is pronounced as a long "a" sound, like in "car". The "t" and "l" are pronounced separately and the final "e" is silent. The word describes someone who lacks empathy or compassion.
Heartless is an adjective that describes an individual or action lacking compassion, empathy, or concern for others' feelings, emotions, or well-being. It denotes a person who exhibits a general lack of kindness, remorse, or sensitivity towards those around them. The term "heartless" suggests an intentional disregard for the emotional or physical suffering of others.
Someone who is heartless demonstrates a consistent behavior of callousness, often showing no sympathy or understanding towards the pain or distress of others. Such an individual may engage in thoughtless or cruel actions without remorse or consideration of the consequences, displaying an absence of empathy. This term can also be used to describe actions, decisions, or policies that are cold, unfeeling, or indifferent to the suffering of others, particularly when it could be easily prevented or alleviated.
Heartlessness can manifest in various contexts such as personal relationships, work environments, or societal dynamics, where an individual's lack of compassion influences their treatment of others. It contrasts sharply with compassion, altruism, and kindness, as it negates the presence of these qualities and emphasizes a self-centered or apathetic nature.
In summary, describing someone as heartless implies their lack of emotional connection and concern for the well-being and feelings of others, indicating a tendency towards coldness, insensitivity, and disregard for the suffering they witness or cause.
Void of feeling or affection; faint-hearted; without courage.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "heartless" has an interesting etymology. It originated from the Middle English word "hearteles", which was a combination of "heart" and the suffix "-less".
The term "heart" itself comes from the Old English word "heorte", which was derived from the Proto-Germanic word "hertô". The concept of "heart" as the center of emotions and feelings has been present in various languages throughout history.
The suffix "-less" is used to negate the meaning or presence of the root word. In the case of "heartless", it implies the absence or lack of heart or compassion.
So, the etymology of "heartless" reflects the idea of being devoid of kindness, sympathy, or compassion, as if one lacks a heart figuratively.
