ruthless

American

[rooth-lis] / ˈruθ lɪs /

adjective

without pity or compassion; cruel; merciless.

a ruthless tyrant.

Synonyms:

relentless, adamant, unrelenting

ruthless British

/ ˈruːθlɪs /

adjective

feeling or showing no mercy; hardhearted

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See cruel.

Other Word Forms

ruthlessly adverb
ruthlessness noun

Etymology

Origin of ruthless

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

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.

Ursula has shades of Gellar’s famous characters — Buffy’s physical ferocity, Kathryn Merteuil’s ruthless cattiness, Daphne Blake’s affinity for mysterious games — but doesn’t play to one exclusively.

From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026

David Plotz: Do you get the sense that Lachlan has the ruthless brilliance and the eye for talent that Rupert Murdoch has had?

From Slate • Mar. 21, 2026

He rose to become founder Tahir Garayev’s second in command and gained a reputation as a ruthless dealmaker, some of the people familiar with his operations said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

Van Geelen’s test is ruthless: If an AI agent can do it for you, a company’s competitive edge was never its technology.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026

For me, there was no real element of surprise in this ruthless truth, and so it didn’t waylay me.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023