Ruthless

//ˈɹuːθləs// adj

adj ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Without pity or compassion; cruel, pitiless.

    "At length their rage the hoſtile Pow’rs reſtrain, / All but the ruthleſs Monarch of the Main."

  2. 2
    Uncompromising; unrelenting.

    "Particular note, in this period, should be made of the actions of Joseph Denman, commander of the Northern Division of the Squadron, who went on an absolutely ruthless and systematic campaign along the African coast, burning so-called "slaving factories" to the ground and openly daring anyone who objected to try and stop him."

Adjective
  1. 1
    without mercy or pity wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
remorselessanimalanthropophagousatrociousbarbaricbarbarous

Example

More examples

"Those guys are ruthless, covering up their tracks like that after all their wrongdoing."

Etymology

From Middle English reuþeles; equivalent to ruth + -less.

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