pitiless
Americanadjective
adjective
Related Words
See cruel.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pitiless
First recorded in 1375–1425, pitiless is from the late Middle English word piteles. See pity, -less
Explanation
Pitiless means "without mercy" or "cruel." Movie critics are often described as pitiless, because if they hate a film, they don't hold back or consider the feelings of the people who poured their hearts into making it. The root word of the adjective pitiless is pity. If someone lacks all sympathy or tenderness, you can describe them as pitiless. People who are annoyed that they have to step out of the way of homeless people who huddle against buildings in winter are probably pitiless — they just don't care about the plights of others. How can you tell if your friends are pitiless? They seem bored or annoyed when you are upset about something.
Vocabulary lists containing pitiless
Negative Words to Describe a Person
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Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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"The Second Coming" by W.B. Yeats
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Pitiless yet tender, Gaspar Noé’s latest split-screen death trip follows an aging, ailing Parisian couple through their final days.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2022
Pitiless, grainy close-ups capture him sipping tea with a mother and child — perhaps his brother’s family — in a blank apartment and, later, alongside a mullah in a mosque.
From New York Times • Nov. 18, 2021
The Pitiless Storm shows a middle-aged Labour politician coming to support the notion of Scottish independence.
From BBC • Aug. 17, 2014
His latest album is “We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves” and he recently played the Mercury Lounge on the Lower East Side.
From New York Times • Jul. 8, 2011
Pitiless wind, laden with sleet, howled over them as if thirsting impatiently for the fishermen’s lives.
From Personal Reminiscences in Book Making and Some Short Stories by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
