ruthless

[ rooth-lis ]

adjective

1. without pity or compassion; cruel; merciless:

   a ruthless tyrant.

   Synonyms: relentless, adamant, unrelenting

ruthless

/ ˈruːθlɪs /

adjective

1. feeling or showing no mercy; hardhearted

Derived Forms

• ˈruthlessness, noun
• ˈruthlessly, adverb

Other Words From

• ruthless·ly adverb
• ruthless·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ruthless¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; ruth + -less

Synonym Study

See cruel.

Example Sentences

His stories were constructed with ruthless narrative efficiency.

From The Daily Beast

To be fair, he might not have known that Pinochet was a ruthless dictator.

From The Daily Beast

Her remarks on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have drawn some ruthless criticism from Jews around the world.

From The Daily Beast

So it continues to make local authorities and their ruthless cronies uneasy.

From The Daily Beast

I was not prepared for the staggered, ruthless falling apart of one of the people I love most in the world.

From The Daily Beast

This demand was made with scornful seriousness; with a ruthless application to the feelings of a son.

From Project Gutenberg

In the procession I should feel the crushing feet, the clashing discords, the ruthless hands and stifling breath.

From Project Gutenberg

This ruthless destruction of the forest brings down upon Calendau the anger of his lady; he has dishonored the noble mountain.

From Project Gutenberg

There was not one nook or cranny into which that ruthless self-knowledge could not throw its cruel glare.

From Project Gutenberg

The little camp had ceased to exist; the great, ruthless, calm forest had reclaimed its own.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• barbarous
• brutal
• callous
• cold-blooded
• cruel
• cutthroat
• ferocious
• fierce
• harsh
• inhuman
• malevolent
• merciless
• rancorous
• relentless
• sadistic
• savage
• unforgiving
• unrelenting
• unyielding
• vicious