CUTTHROAT Synonyms: 59 Similar and Opposite Words

cutthroat 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of cutthroat

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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cutthroat

2 of 2

noun

ˈkət-ˌthrōt

as in assassin

a person who kills another person while traveling the ancient Silk Road, traders were constant prey to cutthroats and thieves

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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

That group of gals came to the realization that the experience had now become more of a cutthroat game. — Hannah Kirby, jsonline.com, 26 Aug. 2026 Amid the stresses of the Arctic, scientists are rethinking the idea that all life is a cutthroat competition with winners and losers. — ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026

Noun

Coming off a cutthroat season that drew the most viewers back to the program in a decade, the competition coming this fall is already gearing up to be one for the books. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 18 June 2026 Knowing the history of the cutthroat beer wars of the past is required to understand King Snedley’s unexpected appearance. — Bill Swank, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for cutthroat

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cutthroat

Adjective

Arsenal created more than enough to help themselves to a bunch of goals in Naples, only to get stuck in anti-ruthless mode.

— Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Authorities raided the building and found the entrance to a tunnel controlled by the ruthless Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

— Steve Fisher, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of ruthless

Noun

Before Atlanta, the girls weren’t judged as heavily based on their reads or confessional assassin abilities.

— Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026
As the President sat down to eat with the press corps, a would-be assassin stormed through a security checkpoint before being subdued by the Secret Service.

— Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of assassin

Noun

In June 2021, a camera helped locate a murderer, Joseph Jean, 56, who sped off after stabbing a 38-year-old woman on a sidewalk in Fort Lauderdale, the agency said.

— Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026
Austin Metcalf's father is speaking out for the first time after a judge denied denied his son's murderer -- Karmelo Anthony -- a request for a new trial for the fatal stabbing at a Texas high school track meet.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of murderer

Adjective

Fascism and communism are political systems designed to benefit society’s most inadequate and corrupt.

— Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 7 Sep. 2026
This is the most corrupt administration in the history of America, and what corruption really is is stealing from my constituents.

— CBS News, CBS News, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of corrupt

Noun

The use of an ECG alone has detection levels of up to 85 per cent, but some studies suggest an even greater rate for what are known as ‘silent killers’, where the vast majority display no symptoms before cardiac arrest.

— Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Shortly after Hollander was identified as the assumed killer, the rest of his car was searched and police started to suspect him in another murder case with similar details.

— Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of killer

Adjective

Mehring’s characters include petty criminals, unscrupulous lawyers, Galician Jews, Freikorps heavies, local and international businessmen, Prussian generals, and the everyday citizens inhabiting the streets of Berlin’s old and rather dingy center.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026
The Musk of this film is unscrupulous, power-hungry, and narcissistic, the child of a distant, difficult father.

— Matthew Carey, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2026