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 “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

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

Ms. Vanderkam’s positive perspective is appealing, but there’s a ruthless regimentation in the details.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Only Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White has been more ruthless with his finishing than Matheus Cunha, while Benjamin Sesko and Casemiro have also been enjoying a hot spell in front of goal recently.

From BBC • May 8, 2026

The world had learned the hard way that ruthless justice was the only way to ensure that the past remained untampered with.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Vocabulary lists containing ruthless

Anti-Antonyms: Words Without Opposites

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The Things They Carried

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