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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 of ruthless
Examples of ruthless in a Sentence
Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Tren de Aragua and MS-13 are some of the most violent and ruthless terrorist gangs on planet earth.
—CBS News, 19 Jan. 2026
The older woman’s romantic advice is as ruthless and transactional as any MBA’s negotiation strategy.
—Judy Berman, Time, 19 Jan. 2026
Watch Dynasty on Netflix The Righteous Gemstones Just as Landman pulls back the curtain and shows the ruthless wheelings and dealings of the oil industry, The Righteous Gemstones does the same for evangelical megachurches.
—Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 18 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Ruthless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruthless. Accessed 25 Jan. 2026.
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