relentless
American
adjective
-
(of an enemy, hostile attitude, etc) implacable; inflexible; inexorable
-
(of pace or intensity) sustained; unremitting
Synonym Usage
See inflexible.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of relentless
Explanation
Relentless is a good word for describing something that's harsh, unforgiving, and persistent, like the hot sun in the desert, or a cold that keeps you in bed for days with a nose like a strawberry. When you're relentless about something, you mean business. You're not stopping until you get what you want, and you're not taking "no" for an answer. People might try to steer you from your goal, but you have eyes only for the prize and they're just going to have to get out of your way. If you're a relentless student, for instance, you might stay up all night studying your vocabulary, just in case there might be a quiz in the morning.
Vocabulary lists containing relentless
The Giver
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A Long Walk to Water
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Power Suffix: -less
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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.
All three major stock indexes ended last week higher as a relentless bull market driven by AI spending enters its fourth year.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
Take Pitt’s “F1: The Movie” and this year’s “Heart of the Beast,” where Pitt plays hypermasculine characters whose lives, actions and goals are defined by a relentless desire to come out on top.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
Conceived as a relentless bully of Arnold, Helga was one of the richer, more complex characters to come out of a kids’ cartoon in its or any era.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The relentless rise in AI hardware, which has driven the gain in Asian export values, is easing too, they say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
And the stranger continued to build it with relentless good humor.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
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.
