unforgiving

adjective

un·​for·​giv·​ing ˌən-fər-ˈgi-viŋ 

1

: unwilling or unable to forgive

2

: having or making no allowance for error or weakness

an unforgiving environment where false moves can prove fatal

—Jaclyn Fierman

unforgivingness noun

Examples of unforgiving in a Sentence

They are unforgiving of the smallest mistake.

the unforgiving world of politics

Recent Examples on the Web

The film sheds light on the unforgiving barriers of the criminal justice system and emphasizes that the foundation of community healing lies within the family unit. —Okla Jones, Essence, 18 July 2024

Read for yourself: Andromeda stepped back in terror, only to feel her proton backplate meet the cold, unforgiving steel of the mainframe’s terminus. —Sean McGowan, The New Yorker, 19 June 2024

Our projections account for NBA Draft decisions and transfer portal movement and reflect unforgiving terrain for the Big 12 newcomers. —Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 24 June 2024

This blend of the pastoral and the religious made the Senegal River feel like an archaic vision of paradise, a strip of vivid life in an otherwise unforgiving environment. —J.r. Patterson, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Dec. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1713, in the meaning defined at sense 1