relentless

play

adjective re·lent·less \-ləs\

Definition of relentless

: showing or promising no abatement of severity, intensity, strength, or pace : unrelenting relentless pressure a relentless campaign

relentlessly

adverb

relentlessness

noun

See relentless defined for English-language learners

See relentless defined for kids

Examples of relentless in a Sentence

Her relentless optimism held the team together.
The hunter was relentless in pursuit of his prey.
a relentless opponent of deregulation

Recent Examples of relentless from the Web

The government remains relentless in its self-promotion.

— The Economist, "The elephant in its labyrinthIn the race with its tricky neighbour, India has recently been winning," 22 July 2017
From the roasted vegetables (they truly are roasted here) to the bright yet subtle sauces to punchy dishes like short ribs with sautéed greens, cipollini, and horseradish cream, the place is defined by a relentless sense of poise and ease.

— garrett snyder, Los Angeles Magazine, "The Los Angeles Magazine Hot Restaurant List for July 2017," 18 July 2017
But the bird’s feathers were deconstructed and looked like so many peering, relentless miniature eyes.

— vincent boucher, The Cut, "What We Saw at the New York’s Menswear Shows This Week," 14 July 2017
The dams turned the relentless flow of the river into electricity that powers Northwest farms, cities, aluminum plants, computer servers and homes with some of the cheapest rates in the country.

— rocky barker, idahostatesman, "Northwest salmon, the stuff of legends, still struggle to survive. Can we save them — and at what price?," 8 July 2017
At 67 years old, Mongo is a consummate storyteller and relentless ball of energy.

— ryan patrick hooper, Detroit Free Press, "Café d'Mongo's Speakeasy: Celebrating 10 quirky years as a Detroit hideaway hotspot," 28 June 2017
There's risk in doing this, because one of Star Trek's main lures has always been its relentless optimism even when things go pretty dark (see, for example, Deep Space Nine).

— annalee newitz, Ars Technica, "New Star Trek series will abandon Gene Roddenberry’s cardinal rule," 27 June 2017
More than 30,000 North Koreans now live in South Korea, having fled poverty, hunger and the relentless pressures of life in an oppressive, authoritarian state.

— Washington Post, "Finding comfort, and North Korea, in a tiny restaurant," 27 June 2017
Instead, the callouts that the relentless hypeman is known for have been replaced with a series of blessings and affirmations for Asahd.

— dayna evans, The Cut, "I Love DJ Khaled’s ‘I Love You So Much’ So Much," 26 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'relentless.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of relentless

1592

RELENTLESS Defined for English Language Learners

relentless

play

adjective

Definition of relentless for English Language Learners

: continuing without becoming weaker, less severe, etc.
: remaining strict or determined

RELENTLESS Defined for Kids

relentless

play

adjective re·lent·less \ri-ˈlent-ləs\

Definition of relentless for Students

: showing no lessening of severity, intensity, or strength The most relentless of his new fears was that they would starve. — Lois Lowry, The Giver