Hardhearted means unwilling to feel or show sympathy, compassion, or kindness toward others. A hardhearted person sees someone struggling and chooses not to help, even when they easily could. They might ignore a classmate who's being left out, refuse to forgive someone who genuinely apologizes, or show no concern when they hear about another person's troubles.

The word combines “hard” (meaning rigid or unyielding) with “heart” (the symbol of emotion and care). A hardhearted person has closed off their feelings, making their heart metaphorically hard like stone instead of warm and responsive. In A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge starts as a hardhearted miser who refuses to help the poor or even treat his employee kindly, saying “Bah! Humbug!” to Christmas charity.

Being hardhearted is different from being tough or strong. You can be strong and still care about others. You can stand firm on your principles while remaining kind. Hardheartedness specifically means shutting out compassion when someone needs it. The opposite is being tenderhearted or softhearted, someone whose heart responds naturally to others' needs. While nobody can help everyone all the time, consistently choosing not to care about others makes someone hardhearted.