merciless

[mur-si-lis]

adjective

1. without mercy; having or showing no mercy; pitiless; cruel.

   a merciless critic.

   Synonyms: inexorable, unsympathetic, fell, unrelenting, relentless, hard
   Antonyms: compassionate

merciless

/ ˈmɜːsɪlɪs /

adjective

1. without mercy; pitiless, cruel, or heartless

Other Word Forms

• mercilessly adverb
• mercilessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of merciless¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English mercyles; mercy, -less

Example Sentences

Putting it in the merciless terms of the spy game, CIA Director John McCone noted, “This source will be of no further value.”

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Nevertheless, she remains as statuesque and merciless as Weaver was onscreen.

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Unlike, for example, Molly Jong-Fast’s merciless “How to Lose Your Mother,” “Bad Bad Girl” doesn’t read like a hit job.

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“Outrageously, in recent years, Christopher Columbus has been a prime target of a vicious and merciless campaign to erase our history, slander our heroes, and attack our heritage,” he said.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Joe Biden much the same thing, while shrugging off concerns about Israel’s merciless killing of civilians in Gaza.

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Related Words

• barbarous 
• callous 
• cruel 
• fierce 
• grim 
• harsh 
• implacable 
• inexorable 
• inhumane 
• relentless 
• ruthless 
• severe 
• unforgiving 
• unrelenting 
• unsparing 
• unyielding