ruthless

[rooth-lis] / ˈruθ lɪs /

ADJECTIVE

mean, heartless

Synonyms

STRONGEST

barbarous brutal callous cold-blooded cruel cutthroat ferocious fierce harsh inhuman malevolent merciless rancorous relentless sadistic savage unforgiving unrelenting unyielding vicious vindictive

WEAK

adamant cold dog-eat-dog feral grim hard hard-hearted implacable inexorable ironfisted killer mortal obdurate pitiless remorseless revengeful severe stern stony surly unappeasable unfeeling unmerciful unsympathetic without pity

Antonyms

STRONGEST

calm civilized compassionate easy feeling flexible forgiving friendly gentle humane kind merciful mild nice nonviolent peaceful polite sympathetic tame tender

WEAK

considerate giving

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.

They beat United Rugby Championship holders Leinster in the final, scoring five tries in a ruthless first-half performance that made the result inevitable with 40 minutes still to play.

From BBC • May 23, 2026

The “Five-Dollar Day”—part publicity stunt, part ruthless business tactic—jump-started a consumer revolution that drove the U.S. economy to 20th-century global dominance and still powers it today.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

Yes, his game is short on poster dunks and rim-rattling highlights, but SGA is the game’s most ruthless superstar.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

Among some of the highlights were her impressive hat-trick at home to Tottenham in March, and a ruthless four-goal haul against Aston Villa in December.

From BBC • May 8, 2026

It was several days before I perceived that most of these “girls” were young men in hiding from the forced-labor conscription, which had grown more ruthless than ever.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Vocabulary lists containing ruthless

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