relentless

[ri-lent-lis]

adjective

1. not easing or slackening; maintaining speed, vigor, etc..

   a relentless barrage of bad news.

2. unyieldingly severe, strict, or harsh.

   a relentless crackdown on human rights.

   Synonyms: unyielding, adamant, obdurate, unbending, rigid
   Antonyms: merciful

relentless

/ rɪˈlɛntlɪs /

adjective

1. (of an enemy, hostile attitude, etc) implacable; inflexible; inexorable

2. (of pace or intensity) sustained; unremitting

Other Word Forms

• relentlessly adverb
• relentlessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of relentless¹

First recorded in 1585–95; relent + -less

Synonym Study

See inflexible.

Example Sentences

He combined his relentless physicality with a willingness to launch unorthodox shots the moment he caught sight of the net.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

A decade into an extraordinary career plagued by relentless October failure, Judge had finally started to rewrite the script, opening this month with hits in 10 of his first 20 at-bats.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

“I don’t understand the decisions of the president anymore. There was the dissolution and since then there’s been decisions that suggest a relentless desire to stay in control,” Attal said.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

"It's been a relentless and very, very difficult process, when it should have been much easier," says Nora Parr, an academic and researcher at Birmingham University, who has co-ordinated the educational evacuations.

Read more on BBC

The film, to be released nationwide on Friday by Neon, plays less like a documentary than a séance in which Orwell’s ghost watches his own warnings play out: urgent, relentless, immersive as a nightmare.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• determined 
• dogged 
• ferocious 
• fierce 
• harsh 
• implacable 
• inexorable 
• rigorous 
• ruthless 
• single-minded 
• uncompromising 
• unforgiving 
• unrelenting 
• unstoppable 
• unyielding