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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."
Examples of ruthless in a Sentence
Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Voight portrayed Coach Bud Kilmer, the ruthless football coach obsessed with winning.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2025
In another example of a ruthless campaign to crush dissent, Cuban authorities sentenced the wife of a Cuban political prisoner to 14 years in prison for charges of acting against state security, for which she had been previously acquitted due to lack of evidence.
—Nora Gamez Torres, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
As the dynasty outsider, Henry (Boszhardt) must battle his ruthless stepmother (Gershon), who is under the influence of a demon that feeds on greed.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruthless
Cite this Entry
“Ruthless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruthless. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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