Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| desalmado | /desalˈmado/ |
| cruel | /ˈkɾwel/ |
The term is used to describe someone who is without feeling. You may also use inhumano/a in formal contexts to describe behaviors that lack human kindness, or implacable to describe someone who is relentless and shows no mercy.
What does it mean word for word?
The word desalmado is composed of the prefix des- (without), alma (soul) and the suffix -ado (having or characterized by), so it literally means 'without a soul'.
Which one should you use?
While both can describe a lack of empathy, desalmado implies a lack of soul or compassion, whereas cruel specifically emphasizes an intent to cause pain or suffering.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree in gender and number with the person or group being described. Use desalmada for a female and desalmados when describing a group of people.
How do you pronounce it?
/desalˈmado/
Did you know?
- If you describe a person as having 'no heart' in Spanish using 'sin corazón', it often refers to someone who is physically or emotionally unromantic, whereas desalmado attacks their very morality.
- The word alma is feminine, but because it starts with a stressed 'a', it uses the masculine article el in the singular form el alma.
- The word cruel comes from the Latin crūdēlis, which originally related to 'raw' or 'bloody' materials.
Examples in context
- Él es tan desalmado.He is so heartless.This sentence illustrates how to use desalmado to describe a person's character.Tatoeba #7017185 by Eremon, translation #71992 by AlanF_US
- Él es cruel y desalmado.He's cruel and heartless.This example shows how to use cruel and desalmado together.Tatoeba #7017188 by Eremon, translation #1851480 by Spamster
- No pienso que seas un desalmado.I don't think you're heartless.This sentence uses desalmado in a negative statement.Tatoeba #2867684 by teskmon, translation #2276235 by CK
- Maria fue desalmada al despedir a su empleada sin ninguna razón aparente.Maria was heartless when she fired her employee without any apparent reason.
- No puedo creer lo cruel que fue Juan al burlarse de su amigo.I can't believe how heartless Juan was when he made fun of his friend.
- Ana se comportó de manera inhumana al ignorar por completo las necesidades de su hermano.Ana acted in a heartless manner by completely ignoring her brother's needs.
- El juez fue implacable al dictar una condena tan severa.The judge was heartless when he handed down such a severe sentence.
- Mi jefe es duro de corazón, no le interesa la situación personal de sus empleados.My boss is heartless, he doesn't care about the personal situations of his employees.
- Juan mostró ser sin sentimientos al no consolar a su amiga en su momento de tristeza.Juan proved to be heartless by not comforting his friend in her moment of sadness.
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are discussing a former coworker's behavior.
- Mateo¿Viste cómo trató a su equipo?Did you see how he treated his team?
- LucíaSí, fue un hombre desalmado.Yes, he was a heartless man.
- MateoNo puedo creer su falta de empatía.I cannot believe his lack of empathy.
- LucíaEs de lo peor que he conocido.He is one of the worst I have known.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “heartless” translations and entries desalmado, cruel, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cruel, desalmado, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
