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 don’t spitball—they engage in ruthless strategizing worthy of the Pentagon war room.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026

Villains in previous Toy Story movies have included a large purple teddy bear called Lotso, troubled next-door neighbour Sid, a ruthless toy collector named Al and creepy vintage doll Gabby Gabby.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

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

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

“That the famous Aech, renowned gunter and the most feared and ruthless arena combatant in the entire OASIS, was, in reality, a...”

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

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