callousness
callousness — 名詞
1. the quality of treating other people in a deliberately unkind way, showing that
冷酷無情
對他人痛苦毫不在意的態度
the quality of treating other people in a deliberately unkind way, showing that you do not care at all about their feelings or the pain they are going through
The landlord's callousness toward the homeless family shocked everyone in the building.
房東對無家可歸家庭冷酷無情的態度，震驚了大樓裡的每一個人。
callousness toward [someone]
Anjali could not understand the callousness of people who laughed at the old man's accident.
Anjali 無法理解那些嘲笑老人意外的人是多麼冷酷無情。
The company's callousness in firing workers just before the holidays was widely condemned.
這間公司在假期前冷酷無情地開除員工，受到廣泛譴責。
callousness in [doing something]
Years in the emergency room had not reduced Dr. Okafor's concern — she still hated callousness in her team.
在急診室工作多年並沒有減少 Dr. Okafor 的關懷——她仍然厭惡團隊中的冷酷無情。
Otis wrote an article about the callousness of a system that leaves sick children without treatment.
Otis 寫了一篇文章，探討一個讓生病兒童得不到治療的制度有多麼冷酷無情。
the callousness of [system / institution]
- sheer callousness
- moral callousness
- callousness toward the poor
- act of callousness
- cruelty
emphasises active enjoyment of causing pain, while callousness is more about cold indifference
- ruthlessness
focuses on willingness to do anything to achieve a goal, while callousness is about emotional detachment
- coldness
suggests emotional distance without the harsh edge of callousness
- indifference
is weaker — simply not caring, without active unkindness
- compassion
the active concern for others' suffering
- kindness
warm and caring treatment of others
用法筆記
Frequently used with prepositions 'toward', 'in', or 'of' to specify the target or context of the unkind behaviour.
常見錯誤
callousness — 形容詞
- callousnesspositive
- more callousnesscomparative
- most callousnesssuperlative
1. describes skin that has become hard, thick, and rough, usually on the hands, fee
粗硬；長繭
皮膚因摩擦或壓力而變硬變厚
describes skin that has become hard, thick, and rough, usually on the hands, feet, or other parts of the body that experience repeated rubbing, pressure, or heavy use
Daichi's callous heels cracked and bled after weeks of hiking without proper boots.
Daichi 粗硬的腳跟因為走了好幾週的路卻沒穿合適的靴子而裂開流血。
callous/calloused [body part] — skin hardened by friction
Regular guitar practice had left callous fingertips on the musician's left hand.
長期練習吉他讓那位音樂家的左手指尖變得粗硬。
callous fingertips — from repeated contact or pressure
Élise gently rubbed moisturiser into her calloused elbows every evening after work.
Élise 每晚工作結束後都會輕輕地把乳液擦在長繭的肘部。
The nurse noticed calloused areas on the patient's palms from using crutches.
護理師注意到病人手掌因使用拐杖而長出繭的部位。
calloused areas on [body part] — identifying hardened patches
- callous skin
- callous palms
- calloused hands
- calloused feet
- calloused fingertips
- calloused elbows
- calloused areas
用法筆記
Some writers prefer the spelling 'calloused' for this physical sense. Both 'callous' and 'calloused' are acceptable when describing skin hardened by friction. For the emotional meanings, see sense 2 and sense 3 below.
常見錯誤
2. describes a person who no longer experiences normal feelings such as sadness, fe
麻木的
因長期經歷創傷而失去感受能力
describes a person who no longer experiences normal feelings such as sadness, fear, or excitement, usually because they have been through very difficult experiences over a long time
After years of covering bad news, the journalist had grown callous to stories of suffering and loss.
報導了多年壞消息之後，那位記者對苦難和失落的故事已經變得麻木。
grow / become callous to [something]
The constant criticism from her parents had made the child callous to their harsh words.
父母不斷的批評讓那個孩子對他們的嚴厲話語感到麻木。
Hiro tried hard not to become callous to the pain of refugees around him.
Hiro 努力讓自己不對身邊難民的痛苦變得麻木。
Living through the bombing had made the old soldier callous to the sounds of explosions nearby.
經歷過轟炸之後，那位老兵對附近的爆炸聲已經感到麻木。
callous to [stimulus / sound]
- callous to suffering
- callous to criticism
- grown callous to
- become callous to
- numb
describes a temporary or permanent loss of feeling; less judgmental than callous
- desensitised
suggests a gradual loss of sensitivity due to repeated exposure
- hardened
suggests emotional toughness developed through experience
用法筆記
Always takes the preposition 'to' to specify what the person no longer feels. Distinguish from sense 3: this sense describes a general emotional numbness, while sense 3 describes active disregard for others.
常見錯誤
3. describes someone who does not care about other people's difficulties or sufferi
冷酷的
對他人的困難毫無同情心
describes someone who does not care about other people's difficulties or suffering and shows no desire to help them, often seeming to think that the other person deserves their misfortune
Mira thought the government's refusal to fund the shelter was a callous decision that hurt the most vulnerable people.
Mira 認為政府拒絕資助收容所的決定非常冷酷，傷害了最弱勢的群體。
Tomás could not believe how callous his boss was when he asked for sick leave.
Tomás 不敢相信老闆在他請病假時竟然那麼冷酷無情。
callous [person] — ignoring someone's needs
The callous remark about the child's appearance made everyone at the dinner table feel uncomfortable.
那句關於孩子外貌的冷酷評論讓餐桌上的每個人都感到不自在。
callous remark / comment
Only a callous person would ignore an elderly neighbour who is clearly struggling to carry heavy shopping bags.
只有冷酷的人才會無視一位明顯提不動沉重購物袋的老鄰居。
- callous attitude
- callous remark
- callous disregard
- callous indifference
- heartless
stronger and more emotional than callous; suggests a complete lack of human feeling
- cold-blooded
suggests deliberate cruelty, often used for violent acts
- unsympathetic
milder than callous; means not showing understanding or support
- compassionate
feeling and showing concern for others' suffering
- caring
showing kindness and concern for others
用法筆記
Frequently used to criticise decisions, remarks, or actions of authority figures such as governments, companies, or managers. This sense is stronger than sense 2 — it implies active disregard for others, not just emotional numbness.
常見錯誤
callousness — 動詞
- callousnesspresent simple I / you / we / they
- callousnesses3rd person singular
- callousnessing-ing form
- callousnessedpast simple
1. to make a person's character become less sensitive and caring about others; or t
使麻木
使人或皮膚變得麻木、失去感覺
to make a person's character become less sensitive and caring about others; or to make the skin become hard and thick through repeated friction or pressure
Working as a debt collector for ten years had calloused his heart to the struggles of ordinary people.
做了十年的討債人，他的心已經對普通百姓的困境變得麻木。
callous one's heart to [something] — emotional hardening
The constant friction of the heavy backpack calloused the skin on her shoulders until it was tough as leather.
沉重背包持續的摩擦讓她的肩膀皮膚變得堅硬粗糙，像皮革一樣。
callous the skin — physical hardening
Valentina worried that teaching in the city's toughest school would callous her sympathy for struggling students.
Valentina 擔心在城裡最難教的學校教書會讓她對掙扎中的學生的同情變得麻木。
Years of chopping wood had calloused Justin's hands until they felt like leather.
多年劈柴讓 Justin 的雙手變得像皮革一樣粗硬。
- calloused by experience
- calloused to suffering
- calloused one's heart
- harden
more common and general; can apply to any material or emotion
- toughen
suggests making someone emotionally or physically stronger, not necessarily colder
- desensitise
more formal and specific to emotional numbness from repeated exposure
文法句型
callous + object
be calloused by [experience]
用法筆記
This verb is relatively rare in everyday speech; the adjective forms (senses 2 and 3) and the phrase 'become callous' are far more common. Frequently used in the passive: 'He was calloused by years of hardship.'