callous
/ˈkæləs/ (bre, ipa) · [kˈæləs] /ˈkæləs/ (ame, ipa) · [kˈæləs] /ˈka-ləs How to pronounce callous (audio)/ (ame, mw)
callous — 形容詞
- callouspositive
- more callouscomparative
- most calloussuperlative
1. showing no real concern when other people are hurt, upset, or in trouble
冷酷；無情
對他人痛苦毫不在意的
showing no real concern when other people are hurt, upset, or in trouble
Arjun gave a callous shrug when the waitress dropped the tray.
女服務生打翻托盤時，Arjun 竟冷酷地聳了聳肩。
callous + noun showing visible indifference
Yuna made a callous joke after her cousin broke an ankle.
表親摔斷腳踝後，Yuna 還開了個無情的玩笑。
The manager's callous email left Bao furious and the interns silent.
經理那封冷酷的電子郵件讓 Bao 很憤怒，也讓實習生全都沉默了。
Layla sounded callous when she blamed the flood victims for not leaving sooner.
Layla 把沒有早點撤離怪到水災災民身上時，語氣顯得很冷酷。
Christopher seemed callous toward the neighbour whose shop had burned.
Christopher 對那位店被燒毀的鄰居顯得很無情。
- insensitive
milder; often suggests poor awareness rather than moral coldness
- heartless
stronger; emphasizes an absence of pity in serious situations
- cruel
usually stronger because it can imply active enjoyment of causing pain
- compassionate
showing active sympathy and concern for suffering
- considerate
emphasizes thinking about other people's feelings and needs
文法句型
callous to someone's suffering
a callous remark / decision / response
用法筆記
Often followed by 'to' or 'toward' when naming the suffering someone does not care about. Stronger than 'insensitive' because it suggests the pain is obvious but ignored anyway.
常見錯誤
2. having skin that has grown thick and hard from repeated rubbing or heavy work
長繭的
皮膚因摩擦而變厚變硬的
having skin that has grown thick and hard from repeated rubbing or heavy work
Cole's callous fingertips no longer hurt during long guitar rehearsals.
Cole 長繭的指尖在長時間吉他排練時已不再疼痛。
collocation: callous fingertips
The mechanic's callous hands left dark prints on the rag.
那位技工長繭的雙手在抹布上留下了黑印。
collocation: callous hands
Kwame showed the nurse the callous patch on his heel.
Kwame 指給護理師看自己腳跟上那塊長繭的地方。
Maeve rubbed lotion into the callous skin beside her thumb.
Maeve 把乳液擦進拇指旁那片長繭的皮膚。
文法句型
callous hands / skin / fingertips
be callous from repeated rubbing
用法筆記
Unlike adjective/1, this sense is about the physical condition of skin. In modern everyday English, 'calloused' is often more common after 'be', while 'callous' still appears before nouns such as 'callous hands' or 'callous skin'.
常見錯誤
callous — 動詞
- callouspresent simple I / you / we / they
- callouses3rd person singular
- callousing-ing form
- callousedpast simple
1. to make a person less able to feel sympathy or shock, or to make skin grow hard
麻木；長繭
使人冷硬，或使皮膚磨出厚繭
to make a person less able to feel sympathy or shock, or to make skin grow hard through repeated pressure
Years in the emergency ward had calloused Christopher to scenes of pain.
在急診病房待了多年後，Christopher 對痛苦場面已變得麻木。
callous someone to + noun
The coach warned that mocking patients would callous the students.
教練警告說，嘲笑病人會讓這些學生變得冷硬麻木。
Weeks of rope drills calloused Hannah's palms before the regatta.
繩索訓練做了幾週後，Hannah 的手掌在賽艇賽前已磨得長繭。
Months of hammer work calloused the skin below Bao's thumb.
連做了幾個月的槌擊工作後，Bao 拇指下方的皮膚磨得長了厚繭。
- harden
broader and can refer to attitudes, emotions, or physical materials
- numb
focuses on loss of feeling, often without the moral tone of 'callous'
- desensitize
more neutral or technical; often used for reducing reaction through repeated exposure
文法句型
callous someone to suffering
callous the skin on [body part]
用法筆記
When the object is a person, this verb often takes 'to' before the experience they stop reacting to. It can also take a body-part object for skin hardened by repeated work or friction.