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• ruth
  ruth

  noun

  pity or compassion.
• Ruth
  Ruth

  noun

  a Moabite woman who married Boaz and became an ancestor of David: the daughter-in-law of Naomi.

ruth

¹ American  

[rooth] / ruθ /

noun

• ruths
  plural

1. pity or compassion.

   Synonyms:

   sympathy, mercy

   Antonyms:

   cruelty

2. sorrow or grief.

3. self-reproach; contrition; remorse.

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Ruth ² American  

[rooth] / ruθ /

noun

1. a Moabite woman who married Boaz and became an ancestor of David: the daughter-in-law of Naomi.

2. a book of the Bible bearing her name.

3. a female given name.

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Ruth ³ American  

[rooth] / ruθ /

noun

1. George Herman Babe, 1895–1948, U.S. baseball player.

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Ruth ¹ British  

/ ruːθ /

noun

1. Old Testament

   1. a Moabite woman, who left her own people to remain with her mother-in-law Naomi, and became the wife of Boaz; an ancestress of David

   2. the book in which these events are recounted

2. George Herman , nicknamed Babe . 1895–1948, US professional baseball player from 1914 to 1935

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ruth ² British  

/ ruːθ /

noun

1. pity; compassion

2. repentance; remorse

3. grief or distress

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Ruth Cultural  

1. The great-grandmother of King David, known for her kindness and faithfulness. Not an Israelite herself, she married an Israelite who had come to her country with his family. Ruth's husband died, and her mother-in-law, Naomi, set out to return to the country of the Israelites. Ruth insisted on accompanying Naomi, saying, “Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge.” In the country of the Israelites, Ruth married Boaz, a rich relative of her dead husband; Boaz had been attracted to Ruth by her generosity. Her story is told in the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ruths
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of ruth

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English ruthe, reuthe; see origin at rue ¹, -th ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ruth Ruth

Appeared in the February 7, 2026, print edition as 'Lost in Epstein’s Web ruth, Consequences and the Limits of Epstein’s Web Jeffrey Epstein’s Tangled Web'.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026

The show, co-created by playwright ruth tang and director Sarah Blush, and put on by a cast of game collaborators and theater company New Georges, manages to be playful, confounding, and surprisingly, a little touching.

From The Verge ● Sep. 26, 2021

You can view the spreadsheets from previous versions of the show on ruth tang’s website.

From The Verge ● Sep. 26, 2021

But no major writer has been more ruth lessly candid, or more humble, about his own abilities.

From Time Magazine Archive

I learned the truth, Wi' mental pain and muckle ruth.

From A Golfing Idyll or The Skipper's Round with the Deil On the Links of St. Andrews by Violet Flint

But S. Neil Fujita was a 20-year-old art student while Ruth Asawa and Kay Sekimachi were teenagers when they were interned in the U.S.; their first experience of art came in the camps.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2026

Deputy council leader Ruth Bennett welcomed the announcement by Chancellor John Healey.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

My mother, Ruth, had wanted to be a Broadway stage singer but her family wouldn’t hear of it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

“In our opinion, and 36 years of market experience, Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan stand above all others in the history of American sports,” Hunt said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

You probably know that in 1927, Babe Ruth hit his famous sixty home runs in a single season.

From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt

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