Callousness
Etymology
From Latin "callus" / "callum" (hardened skin, a thickening from friction). The literal callus of a worker’s hand became a metaphor for feelings worn hard — a heart that no longer registers what should hurt.
noun · /KAL-us-nis/
An unfeeling hardness toward the suffering of others.
What it names
The vice of not caring rather than actively wishing harm — the shrug where sympathy should be.
Example
The report’s callousness was in its language: displaced families became “affected units” to be “processed.”
Related idea
Cruelty wants to wound; callousness simply doesn’t notice or mind the wound. The cruel are engaged with their victim; the callous are indifferent to them.
See also