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ruthless

[ rooth-lis ]

/ ˈruθ lɪs /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR ruthless ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

without pity or compassion; cruel; merciless: a ruthless tyrant.

Origin of ruthless

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at ruth, -less

SYNONYMS FOR ruthless

unrelenting, adamant, relentless.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR ruthless ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for ruthless

See cruel.

OTHER WORDS FROM ruthless

ruth·less·ly, adverb ruth·less·ness, noun

Words nearby ruthless

rutherford, rutherford scattering, rutherford, ernest, rutherfordium, ruthful, ruthless, rutidosis, rutilant, rutilated, rutile, rutin

Example sentences from the Web for ruthlessly

Dickens grew up in a London where child labor was ruthlessly exploited.

How Dickens and Scrooge Saved Christmas |Clive Irving |December 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
She entered into the marriage, but was ruthlessly beaten by her in-laws and her husband.

Legalized Spousal Abuse Is Coming to Afghanistan |Nina Strochlic |February 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
“Ruthlessly negative about Washington,” is how pollster Neil Newhouse summed up the attitudes of these women.

‘Walmart Moms’ Are Furious With Washington |Eleanor Clift |October 18, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
There, he ruthlessly kills off the small critters of the surrounding wilderness.

This Week’s Hot Reads: June 10, 2013 |Mythili Rao |June 10, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

Unsullied, The: A group of slave soldiers who are ruthlessly trained in Astapor and their sense of free will removed entirely.

‘Game of Thrones’ Season 3 for Dummies |Jace Lacob |March 27, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Surely it was too goodly a residence that we should be so swiftly, so ruthlessly, evicted from it!

The Poison Belt |Arthur Conan Doyle
She had used other people to satisfy her selfish desires and then discarded them ruthlessly.

Complete Short Works |Georg Ebers
Switzerland was regarded as a conquered and subject land, and was ruthlessly despoiled by the French.

The Story of Switzerland |Lina Hug
She plucked still, but neither so ruthlessly nor so omnivorously as of yore.

The Cab of the Sleeping Horse |John Reed Scott
But it is part of the whole system, which has a political object, to which free thought and free speech are ruthlessly sacrificed.

The Problem of China |Bertrand Russell

British Dictionary definitions for ruthlessly

ruthless

/ (ˈruːθlɪs) /

adjective

feeling or showing no mercy; hardhearted

Derived forms of ruthless

ruthlessly, adverb ruthlessness, noun