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.

Scotland picked their moments to strike and were pretty ruthless when they did.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 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

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

Too well he remembered the lifeless eyes and livid faces of the Cauldron-Born, their ghastly silence and ruthless swords.

From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander

Vocabulary lists containing ruthless

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The Things They Carried

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