ruthfulness

9.9

A feeling of pity and sadness for people who are suffering

noun
/ˈruːθfəl/

Archaic

: compasión

Her ruthfulness was evident as she comforted the grieving family.

Examples

He spoke with ruthfulness, expressing genuine sorrow for the distress he had caused.
A sense of ruthfulness filled the room during the solemn memorial service.
Her ruthfulness is inspiring.
He shows great ruthfulness.
A deep sense of ruthfulness emerged as the community gathered to support those affected by the disaster.
She approached the situation with ruthfulness, offering kind words to those in pain.
The movie evoked strong feelings of ruthfulness as it depicted the struggles of the homeless.

Synonyms

pity

vsruthfulness

156 1.1

A feeling of sadness and care for someone who is suffering

is the more formal abstract state of compassion and sorrow

ruth

vsruthfulness

Archaic

1 9.9

A feeling of pity and sadness for other people's bad luck

is the modern neutral term for the same feeling

Antonyms

cruelty

NSFW

129 3.2

Actions that hurt people or animals on purpose

indifference

71 4.6

Lack of interest or concern about something

How Compassionate

mercy

609 1.3

compassion

423 2.7

ruthfulness

Archaic

9.9

pity

156 1.1

sympathy

273 1.8

Surface Forms

ruthfulness singular

ruthfulnesses plural

Morphology

ruthfulness = ruthful (opaque) = ruth + ful + ness

Although formed regularly from 'ruth' + '-ful' + '-ness', the root 'ruth' is archaic/rare and not known to most learners, so the noun's meaning is not derivable by average learners from its parts.

Etymology

Ruthfulness comes from the old English word ruth, which means 'pity' or 'sorrow'. Think of it as the opposite of the familiar word ruthless ('without pity'), so ruthfulness means being full of pity and gentle sorrow for others.