noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The state or condition of being ruthful; sorrowfulness; contrition. uncountable
2. 2
   a state of gloomy sorrow wordnet
3. 3
   Mercifulness; pity. uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

bleeding heartgentlenessmercifulnessmournfulnessmournfulnesssorrowfulness

Etymology

From Middle English *reowthfulnesse, equivalent to ruthful + -ness.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.