heartless

/ˈhɑːt.lɪs/

//ˈhɑːt.lɪs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"heartless" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“heartless” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,850. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,850
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Without feeling, emotion, or concern for others; uncaring; cruel.

Corpus desk

Index EN-heartless · heartless · English

heartless · rank #18,850 · 12 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,850
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hectic

Nearest frequency peer: hectic (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “heartless”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “heartless” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

heartless vs harmless
78% similar
heartless vs headless
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for heartless
PropertyValue
Headwordheartless
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈhɑːt.lɪs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#18,850
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “heartless”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).heartlesslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “hectic” (#18,851), “HB” (#18,848), “holistic” (#18,852). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “heartless” is #18,850. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around heartless (IPA /ˈhɑːt.lɪs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #18,850 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for heartless, with forms such as "ehartless", "haertless", and "hearltess". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "harmless", "headless", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hertles, herteles, from Old English heortlēas (“without courage; listless”), equivalent to heart + -less. Cognate with German herzlos. The correct English form is heartless, spelled H-E-A-R-T-L-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Without feeling, emotion, or concern for others; uncaring; cruel.
  2. 2
    Without a physical heart.
  3. 3
    Listless, unenthusiastic.
  4. 4
    Without courage; fearful, cowardly.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how heartless appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. His heartless actions and cold manner left her saddened and feeling alone.
  2. The world is a dangerous, violent place […] and the only true refuge from this heartless world is the family.

Etymology

From Middle English hertles, herteles, from Old English heortlēas (“without courage; listless”), equivalent to heart + -less. Cognate with German herzlos.

This word in other languages

cruel(Español)sans-cœur(Français)herzlos(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ehartless
  • haertless
  • hearltess
  • hearrtless
  • heartelss
  • heartles
  • heartlless
  • heartlses
  • hearttless
  • heatrless
  • heratless
  • hheartless

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of heartless - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ehartless2haertless2hearltess2hearrtless1heartelss2heartles1heartlless1heartlses2
Edit distance from "heartless"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "heartless"?
"heartless" is spelled H-E-A-R-T-L-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɑːt.lɪs/.
What does "heartless" mean?
As an adjective, "heartless" means: Without feeling, emotion, or concern for others; uncaring; cruel.
What words are commonly confused with "heartless"?
"heartless" is commonly confused with "harmless", "headless". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "heartless"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "heartless" is /ˈhɑːt.lɪs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "heartless"?
From Middle English hertles, herteles, from Old English heortlēas (“without courage; listless”), equivalent to heart + -less. Cognate with German herzlos. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "heartless", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hairstyle#18,844informant#18,858intrusive#18,861Gabrielle#18,833

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

holistic12 variantsharmonic12 variantshormonal12 variantsmaverick12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list