different between heartless vs hardhearted

English

Etymology

From Middle English hertles, herteles, from Old English heortl?as (“without courage; listless”), equivalent to heart +? -less.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?h??t.l?s/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?h??t.l?s/
• Hyphenation: heart?less

Adjective

heartless (comparative more heartless, superlative most heartless)

1. (obsolete) Without courage; fearful, cowardly. [10th–19th c.]
   • 1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia, II.iii.7:

     Cecilia then, though almost heartless, resolved upon talking with Mr. Harrel himself […].

2. (now rare) Listless, unenthusiastic. [from 14th c.]
3. Without a physical heart. [from 15th c.]
4. Without feeling, emotion, or concern for others; uncaring. [from 16th c.]

   His heartless actions and cold manner left her saddened and feeling alone.

Derived terms

• heartlessly
• heartlessness

Translations

Anagrams

• Earthless, earthless, hartlesse, shearlets

English

Alternative forms

• hard-hearted

Etymology

hard +? hearted

Adjective

hardhearted (comparative more hardhearted, superlative most hardhearted)

1. Lacking in compassion; cold and pitiless.

Synonyms

• stonehearted

Antonyms

• softhearted

Translations

References

• Webster, Noah (1828) , “hardhearted”, in An American Dictionary of the English Language
• “hardhearted” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "hardhearted" in the Wordsmyth Dictionary-Thesaurus (Wordsmyth, 2002)