ruthless

Examples

• All

• In the business world, being ruthless often means making tough decisions without compassion.

• But I am ruthless about my time and meaning.

  ZOE

• And if that seems ruthless, well of course it's ruthless.

• Yes, they were ruthless, absolutely ruthless.

• These men are ruthless and vicious.

  The Man with the Iron Fists (2012)

• I just had this kind of ruthless ambition to compete.

  Mulligan Brothers Interviews

• Is Amazon ruthless in their pursuit of market share?

• The French fight back with ruthless discipline and crush the revolt.

• Your cause is doomed to failure because it's built on the stupid, ruthless persecution of innocent people.

  The Great Dictator (1940)

• And the males were quite ruthless in how they evaluated the females.

Synonyms

M

mean

vsruthless

869 2.2

Unkind and cruel toward other people

means a deeper, deliberate absence of pity rather than simple meanness

C

cruel

vsruthless

474 2.7

Willing to cause pain or suffering to others

focuses on the absence of pity rather than deliberate harm

V

vicious

vsruthless

267 5.2

Deliberately cruel and likely to hurt someone

centres on lacking compassion rather than aggressive violent intent

B

brutal

vsruthless

• NSFW

230 4.8

Very cruel and violent, causing pain or suffering

highlights missing pity rather than the focus on violence

C

cold-blooded

vsruthless

• Offensive

78 6.1

Showing no pity and acting cruel on purpose

is lack of pity but not only about emotional coldness

F

ferocious

vsruthless

60 5.5

Very strong and violent in a way that hurts or scares

is the absence of pity rather than emphasis on fierce violence

C

callous

vsruthless

41 7.3

Not caring about other people's feelings or pain

is about outright lack of pity rather than emotional numbness

U

unforgiving

vsruthless

36 5.8

Not willing to forgive someone and acting without mercy

is lack of pity rather than unwillingness to forgive specifically

I

inhuman

vsruthless

34 6.0

Very cruel and not feeling pity

describes absence of pity generally rather than dehumanizing cruelty

I

inhumane

vsruthless

• NSFW

33 5.9

Very cruel and causing pain to people or animals

is the simple absence of pity without added emphasis on brutality

M

merciless

vsruthless

33 5.3

Showing no pity and treating people in a cruel way

is about showing lack of pity rather than focusing on relentlessness

P

pitiless

vsruthless

6 7.0

Not showing any pity or kindness

is about lacking compassion without stressing ongoing relentlessness

R

remorseless

vsruthless

6 7.5

Not feeling sorry and continuing without stopping when hurting others

is about lacking compassion rather than highlighting lack of remorse

U

unmerciful

vsruthless

2 7.1

Being very cruel and not kind to others

is the general lack of pity rather than emphasis on severity

U

unsparing

vsruthless

2 7.9

Very harsh and not forgiving when criticizing or acting

is the basic absence of mercy rather than focus on criticism

B

bloody-minded

vsruthless

• Offensive

1 9.2

Ready to use violence to hurt people

is lack of mercy but not necessarily eager for bloodshed

U

unpitying

vsruthless

1 8.8

Not showing kindness or mercy when others suffer

is the same lack of pity but used more broadly

Antonyms

C

compassionate

157 3.7

Feeling concern and care for people who suffer

M

merciful

62 3.3

Kind and willing to forgive someone who is suffering or has done wrong

Compounds

R

ruthless goonda

• Offensive

9.9

A person who uses violence and threats to force people to give money

How Cruel

ruthless

142 4.9

merciless

33 5.3

brutal

• NSFW

230 4.8

cruel

474 2.7

harsh

104 2.9

unkind

41 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology