callous
/ˈkæləs/adjective, noun, verb
callous is spelled C-A-L-L-O-U-S: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,420th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “callous vs callus” about 590 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, callous means “Emotionally hardened; unfeeling and indifferent to the suffering/feelings of others” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in callous?
| Letters | 7: C-A-L-L-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,420th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is callous?
Callous appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,420th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce callous?
- US /ˈkæləs/
Callous has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-callous.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with callous
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: callus (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: callus.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with callous?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as callous from its last stressed vowel (/æləs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of callous
- more callous comparative
- most callous superlative
- callouses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- callousing participle, present
- calloused participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does callous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Emotionally hardened; unfeeling and indifferent to the suffering/feelings of others.
She was so callous that she could criticise a cancer patient for wearing a wig.
- 2
Having calluses, or relating to calluses.
noun
- 1
Alternative form of callus.
verb
- 1
Alternative form of callus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Callous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | endurci, sans-cœur, insensible , calleux |
| German | gefühllos, verhärtet, abgestumpft, herzlos , schwielig |
| Portuguese | insensível |
| Spanish | insensible, cruel, desconsiderado , calloso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does callous come from?
From Latin callōsus (“hard-skinned”), from callum (“hardened skin”) + -ōsus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).