cutthroat 1 of 2

Definition of cutthroatnext

cutthroat

2 of 2

noun

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cutthroat
Adjective
The fate of Runway now in the hands of Elias Clark scion Jay and his team of cutthroat management consultants, Andy, seeking a lifeline, reaches out to Dior honcho Emily and her bizarre tech billionaire biohacker boyfriend Benji Barnes (Justin Theroux). Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 30 Apr. 2026 Stanley dealers were not in cutthroat competition for filthy lucre. Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026
Noun
Their annual festive holiday gift exchange spirals into a cutthroat game of Christmas carnage. Matt Grobar, Deadline, 6 Apr. 2026 Young people in China face a cutthroat job market and are trying to stay competitive amid slowing economic growth. Erin Tan, NBC news, 4 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cutthroat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cutthroat
Adjective
  • When a ruthless despot steals a billion-dollar fortune, the team is sent to steal it back on what would be for anyone else a suicide mission.
    Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 14 May 2026
  • Assayas offers anecdotes, a feuilleton of tyranny in which the foibles of the mighty and the ruthless reveal the sentimental side of cruelty, the amusement value of ugly deeds, and the polite side of monstrous ideas.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 13 May 2026
Noun
  • Even more frightening is a judge apologizing to an assassin who risked the lives of 2,000 people while attempting to assassinate the president and his cabinet.
    Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 8 May 2026
  • In Disavowed, Marsden will play legendary CIA Case Officer Brad Griffin, who is abruptly fired in the middle of a global hunt for an elusive assassin responsible for killing his colleague.
    Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 6 May 2026
Adjective
  • Each side views members of the other party not as merely having a different view on politics but rather as evil or immoral.
    James Piazza, Twin Cities, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Pope Francis changed the church’s social teaching to declare capital punishment immoral in all cases.
    Nicole Winfield, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Harris was no longer seen as a murderer, and the state decided not to retry him.
    Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 14 May 2026
  • The entire movie, people just keep talking about how Clint Eastwood’s character, William Munny, was the most incredible murderer the West has ever seen.
    Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026
Adjective
  • Well remember, there’s a corrupt shadow hanging over the Supreme Court.
    NBC news, NBC news, 10 May 2026
  • Voicer Chris Lee conjures a hypothetically corrupt fire inspection system to oppose battery storage.
    Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 9 May 2026
Noun
  • But wait, isn’t alcohol good for the heart — the leading killer of men and women worldwide?
    Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 14 May 2026
  • There were no witnesses and no forensic technology to single out a killer.
    Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 14 May 2026
Adjective
  • The ads from both sides describe an unscrupulous, moneyed and ruthless entity preying on people at their most vulnerable moments.
    Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 8 May 2026
  • Members of parliament also raised concerns that unscrupulous individuals might attempt to leverage the scheme to their advantage.
    Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 6 May 2026
Adjective
  • Practically all the public’s attention has been on the president and his oddball or vengeful or unprincipled actions.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2026
  • How pathetically far this blithering, unprincipled piece of trash has gone to endanger other lives, to expressly distract and deflect from his own wicked deeds, and to further benefit his grifting family’s larcenously enlarged bounties.
    Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 8 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Cutthroat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cutthroat. Accessed 16 May. 2026.

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