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If someone can be ruthless, can one also be ruthful?
Ruthless can be defined as "without ruth" or "having no ruth." So what, then, is ruth? The noun ruth, which is now considerably less common than ruthless, means "compassion for the misery of another," "sorrow for one's own faults," or "remorse." And, just as it is possible for one to be without ruth, it is also possible to be full of ruth. The antonym of ruthless is ruthful, meaning "full of ruth" or "tender." Ruthful can also mean "full of sorrow" or "causing sorrow." Ruth can be traced back to the Middle English noun ruthe, itself from ruen, meaning "to rue" or "to feel regret, remorse, or sorrow."
Synonyms
- affectless
- callous
- case-hardened
- cold-blooded
- compassionless
- desensitized
- hard
- hard-boiled
- hard-hearted
- heartless
- indurate
- inhuman
- inhumane
- insensate
- insensitive
- ironhearted
- merciless
- obdurate
- pachydermatous
- pitiless
- remorseless
- slash-and-burn
- soulless
- stony
- stoney
- stonyhearted
- take-no-prisoners
- thick-skinned
- uncharitable
- unfeeling
- unmerciful
- unsparing
- unsympathetic
Examples of ruthless in a Sentence
Frank Rizzo, Variety, 23 Apr. 2024
The recovered recording mentions El Viento, the nickname of ruthless cartel boss Carlos Savina.
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 23 Apr. 2024
With the assistance of its friends—especially the United States—Iraq has managed to defeat the most ruthless terrorist organization in recent history.
—Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, Foreign Affairs, 11 Apr. 2024
Behind Jean’s loving, gregarious behavior, though, is a jealous man who likes hunting (something Fanny should haven taken into consideration) and is rumored to be ruthless enough to have done away with a onetime colleague.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Set in the early 1960s, the format provides the latitude to luxuriate in uncomfortable moments and build palpable tension around situations in Patricia Highsmith’s books, a sensation that becomes more intense once it’s demonstrated how ruthless Scott’s Tom Ripley can be.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
One of Gotham's most ruthless villains is getting his time to shine.
—Sadie Bell, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024
The Biden administration, which supports the deployment of Kenyan police officers to assist Haitian police combat ruthless armed gangs sowing chaos in the country, has faced congressional roadblocks despite pledging $300 million towards the mission.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 12 Apr. 2024
In a fanciful twist, Texas and California have cast their red-blue animus aside and forged the Western Forces, a secessionist axis seeking to topple the President (the ruthless, mirthless Nick Offerman), a despot who has appointed himself to a third term.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ruthless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Ruthless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruthless. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.
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