as in ruthless
not guided by or showing a concern for what is right
cutthroat business practices intended to drive competitors out of business
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in assassin
a person who kills another person
while traveling the ancient Silk Road, traders were constant prey to cutthroats and thieves
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cutthroat
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 20 July 2025
The Gulch's fine-dining Chinese restaurant Choy survived Nashville's cutthroat culinary scene for less than a year.
—Hadley Hitson, The Tennessean, 16 July 2025
Preston Fore, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2025
Cable news remains a cutthroat business, and the best anchors and executives are acutely aware of their competition, not just the other channels, but the other places consumers are turning for news and information.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cutthroat
Adjective
Known for his signature visual style and masterful tension-building in crime stories, Kim now turns his lens to the glamorous yet cutthroat world of K-Pop, exploring the fierce desires and ambitions that drive it.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 20 July 2025
The Gulch's fine-dining Chinese restaurant Choy survived Nashville's cutthroat culinary scene for less than a year.
—Hadley Hitson, The Tennessean, 16 July 2025
Noun
CEOs take on all sorts of personas, from the benevolent leader to the cutthroat business executive.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2025
Cable news remains a cutthroat business, and the best anchors and executives are acutely aware of their competition, not just the other channels, but the other places consumers are turning for news and information.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cutthroat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cutthroat
Adjective
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Sweeney stars as Penny Jo, a South Dakota diner waitress with an appealing smile, an ingratiating stammer, a scarf in her hair, and deep reserves of ruthless ambition.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Aug. 2025
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Early in his career, Trump apprenticed himself to Roy Cohn, an unprincipled lawyer who taught the young Donald how to gain wealth and influence through ruthless bullying, profane braggadocio, opportunistic bigotry, baseless lawsuits, lying, and more lying.—
Robert B. Reich,
Hartford Courant,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The deal paves the way for new installments for Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne, a CIA assassin suffering from amnesia.—
Katcy Stephan,
Variety,
13 Aug. 2025
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Bloodsport, being an assassin who has a change of heart and becomes a hero, while also having a deep rat phobia, was fantastic.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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This country already has very limited ability to stop the Republicans’ attempt to end democracy in the United States mostly due to their immoral actions on the Supreme Court nominations of Obama and Biden.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Aug. 2025
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Rudy flames out on his first day, though, and ends up working for a shady lawyer named Bruiser (Lana Parrilla) and her gleefully immoral paralegal Deck (P.J. Byrne).—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
12 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Eventually, Cooper revealed himself to be a serial killer, thus beginning Prater’s fascination with murderers.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
15 Aug. 2025
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And perhaps viewing murderers and carjackers as domestic enemies will actually dissuade those behaviors.—
Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Riz Ahmed stars in the film as Ash, an off-the-grid fixer who brokers deals between whistleblowers and corrupt corporations.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
22 Aug. 2025
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The misleading narrative about Halimi became central to DOGE’s argument; American foreign aid was corrupt and even, at times, funding America’s enemies — and that’s why DOGE had to take over.—
Avi Asher-Schapiro,
ProPublica,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
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That’s how Monster: The Ed Gein Story is introducing Charlie Hunnam as the famed serial killer at the center of its next horror story about Ed Gein.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Aug. 2025
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Were signs missed that could have warned of what the killer had planned?—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Some unscrupulous assessment collectors have in the past tried to force homeowners to waive the priority of Civil Code 5655 so that their collection costs can be paid first — that is against the intent of the law and is wrongful.—
Kelly G. Richardson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Aug. 2025
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Taxpayers should be cautious of overly alarmist narratives or unscrupulous tax professionals who may be seeking to profit from the overwhelming sense of panic.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
9 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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How to explain the rise of so many inept and unprincipled people? Easy.—
Robert B. Reich,
Hartford Courant,
21 Aug. 2025
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She is utterly disillusioned with the ugly transformations of leftist leaders, such as Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Evo Morales of Bolivia, into unprincipled strongmen.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cutthroat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cutthroat. Accessed 31 Aug. 2025.
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