as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
she is a merciless competitor at board games of any kind
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Recent Examples of merciless
In the present day, Lockjaw reenters Bob and Willa’s lives with merciless force, deploying troops from his immigration taskforce on Baktan Cross, the sanctuary city where Bob and Willa have been laying low in the 16 years since Pat became Bob and baby Charlene, Willa, as the two went on the lam.
—
Rory Doherty, Time, 26 Sep. 2025
Ana, a rebellious 19-year-old from Barcelona, is sent by her wealthy father to a Patronato facility overseen by the merciless Sister Socorro.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 22 Sep. 2025
But is my merciless game persona merely nurture, or does nature have something to do with it too?
—Julie Beck, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2025
Some 445 million years ago, Earth plummeted into a devastating ice age and mass extinction, followed by an even more merciless rebound back into the greenhouse hundreds of thousands of years later.
—Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for merciless
Rory Doherty, Time, 26 Sep. 2025
Ana, a rebellious 19-year-old from Barcelona, is sent by her wealthy father to a Patronato facility overseen by the merciless Sister Socorro.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 22 Sep. 2025
But is my merciless game persona merely nurture, or does nature have something to do with it too?
—Julie Beck, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2025
Some 445 million years ago, Earth plummeted into a devastating ice age and mass extinction, followed by an even more merciless rebound back into the greenhouse hundreds of thousands of years later.
—Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for merciless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for merciless
ruthless
Adjective
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Those hoping to snatch a home in this busy period faced limited options on the market, as the country’s developers had chronically underbuilt compared to demand in the years following the subprime mortgage crisis, leading to ruthless bidding wars and climbing home values.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
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Hedda orchestrates a ruthless game of manipulation, where lust, jealousy and betrayal collide.—
Patrick Hipes,
Deadline,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Merciless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/merciless. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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