Lacking kindness, sympathy, or warmth toward others; emotionally distant and uncaring.
Compound of 'cold' and 'hearted,' using 'heart' as the metaphorical seat of emotion. The compound emerged in English as early as the 16th century to describe someone lacking compassion.
The heart became the symbol of emotion across almost every culture in the world, which is why 'coldhearted' and 'warmhearted' are universal metaphors—even though we now know feelings actually come from the brain!
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