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.

The "Laudato Si" encyclical, which denounced mankind's ruthless exploitation of the environment, was hailed by experts for its scientific grounding.

From Barron's • May 23, 2026

Czesław is an ethnic Pole in the Red Army who escaped a ruthless German ambush.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

Guardiola has always been a trendsetter, a ruthless, driven winner determined to make his mark wherever he goes before moving on.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

Azerbaijan's singer Jiva is much more ruthless as she dispenses with a lover on the cinematic ballad Just Go.

From BBC • May 8, 2026

This is a statement about the way humans can be so ruthless, so cunning, so savage that we’re no better than wild animals when you get down to it.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

Vocabulary lists containing ruthless

Anti-Antonyms: Words Without Opposites

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The Things They Carried

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