You Can Tell Someone Has No Heart By 10 Phrases They Likely Say In Casual Conversation
Andrii Nekrasov | ShutterstockThink of a heartless person. What qualities do they have? Everyone has a different idea. Some are careless, others feel entitled. Some even consider heartless people to be jealous, with their own insecurities at the forefront of every conversation.
While the nuanced descriptions and traits of someone without empathy or compassion are somewhat subjective, it's usually obvious someone has no heart when they use these phrases in conversations with others.
People with no heart say these phrases in casual conversations
1. 'What are you gonna do for me?'
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Everything with a heartless person is transactional because they really have no emotional investments in anyone but themselves. They will always put themselves first, even when their friends are really struggling and family members need their help.
Love is conditional, and their time or effort isn't given without a phrase like "What are you gonna do for me?" before offering them.
2. 'You're always so dramatic'
Dismissing and invalidating other people's feelings is often what entitled, heartless people do to make sure they feel in control. They can't have anyone else calling them out for their misbehavior because that only makes them uncomfortable and annoyed. They're not interested in apologizing to anyone, so they deflect and gaslight instead.
Minimizing someone's pain and hurt doesn't make it go away, though. It simply pressures someone else to sabotage their well-being, or, at the very least, isolate themselves from this person.
3. 'Get over it'
Narcissism and entitlement are rising and overtaking empathy. More people are putting themselves first, without putting in any kind of effort to understand or express kindness toward anyone else's situation. There are never any apologies, and there's no empathy or support.
People without a heart aren't interested in investing in relationships by inconveniencing themselves for others, but they certainly expect everyone else to bend over backwards when something goes wrong in their lives. "Get over it" is their response to being needed when someone in their social circle or family needs help, especially when they're busy with their own comfort.
4. 'You can figure it out'
Once they get what they want or need from someone, cold people don't return any kind of favors or stick around to help anyone else. It's an "I got mine, and I don't care if you get yours now" mentality. They don't care about other people, just removing them of anything that might benefit their lives.
In today's world, that often manifests itself in nuanced ways, like opposing affordable healthcare for demographics that can't access it, or opposing social programs that help people, just because they don't need or can't reap the benefits of them.
5. 'I never asked you to do that'
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Instead of getting all the benefits of a simple "thank you" or an expression of gratitude, heartless people make others feel stupid and small for helping them. Even if they manipulated someone into doing a favor on their behalf, you'll still hear "I never actually asked you to do that" more than "thank you for doing that."
They feel inherently entitled to people's time and resources, so there's no need in their minds to actually acknowledge the sacrifice it takes for them to offer support.
6. 'You sound so stupid'
Most people without the empathy to uplift and empower people do quite the opposite. Driven by insecurity, they belittle people's contributions and even make them feel small with jabs and critiques to make themselves feel better.
Their own superiority never comes from internal gratification or fulfillment, but rather from bringing the people around them down. That's why they're exhausting to be around, because they're energy vampires to anyone or anything in the vicinity.
7. 'I'm not sorry'
Instead of apologizing or owning up to their behavior, emotionally cold people say "I'm not sorry" all the time. Unless they're being praised for owning up to something, they're not interested in admitting they made a mistake for the sake of human decency or to help someone else.
People with no empathy and care for others are inherently more antisocial and aggressive because they don't have remorse for anything. They never give the apologies that other people need to feel valued, and they garner more resentment than anything else in their relationships of all kinds.
8. 'What do you want me to say?'
Many people who lack empathy or a "heart" are emotionally disconnected and cold. They don't feel the same kind of remorse when they hurt someone that the average person does. So, you'll often hear them saying things like "What do you want me to say?" because they struggle to support and comfort other people at all.
They might find humor or some kind of annoyance in someone else's pain, but they rarely care enough to actually show up for them.
9. 'Aren't you really insecure about that?'
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Instead of sticking up for people and even holding onto secrets, people with no heart are far more manipulative. Not only do they leverage embarrassment in others to get what they want, but they usually weaponize the vulnerabilities they know about other people to force them into doing something for them.
They're not afraid to hold someone else's insecurities over their heads, even in their darkest, most vulnerable moments, especially if it means they get attention or a feeling of superiority.
10. 'Whatever'
Along with a lack of remorse and compassion for others, heartless people also have a lack of care. They don't even care enough about other people to give them their full attention for an entire conversation or anything more than a one-word answer when they're together.
When someone doesn't have the status and prestige they're looking for to elevate their own social standing, they're especially not willing to put in any kind of real effort.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor's degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
