as in ruthlessly
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Recent Examples of mercilessly
The fans mercilessly booed Shohei Ohtani, who turned down $700 million from the Blue Jays to take $700 million from the Dodgers, and outfielder Kyle Tucker, who turned down $350 million (over 10 years) from the Blue Jays to take $240 million (over four years) from the Dodgers.
—
Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
At his previous school, he was mercilessly bullied.
—Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
When these middlemen resisted British pressure, Britain protected its commercial interests mercilessly and violently.
—Noo Saro-Wiwa, The Dial, 24 Mar. 2026
Over the next two years, Chris filmed the mosquitoes circling the Styrofoam dummies mercilessly.
—David Hu, The Conversation, 18 Mar. 2026
When Lindsay was on heroin, Raúl and the demons knocked him over and mercilessly kicked him in the ribs.
—Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
As this year’s awards season has marched mercilessly onward, one of the biggest questions hinged on which film would walk away with Best Picture.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 15 Mar. 2026
The New York Knicks hacked Wilt Chamberlain mercilessly in the end, trying to get the notoriously bad free-throw shooter to make foul shots.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2026
His father was the warden there, and Dominique was teased for it mercilessly at school.
—Gaby Wood, Vogue, 21 Feb. 2026
Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
At his previous school, he was mercilessly bullied.
—Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
When these middlemen resisted British pressure, Britain protected its commercial interests mercilessly and violently.
—Noo Saro-Wiwa, The Dial, 24 Mar. 2026
Over the next two years, Chris filmed the mosquitoes circling the Styrofoam dummies mercilessly.
—David Hu, The Conversation, 18 Mar. 2026
When Lindsay was on heroin, Raúl and the demons knocked him over and mercilessly kicked him in the ribs.
—Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
As this year’s awards season has marched mercilessly onward, one of the biggest questions hinged on which film would walk away with Best Picture.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 15 Mar. 2026
The New York Knicks hacked Wilt Chamberlain mercilessly in the end, trying to get the notoriously bad free-throw shooter to make foul shots.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2026
His father was the warden there, and Dominique was teased for it mercilessly at school.
—Gaby Wood, Vogue, 21 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mercilessly
Adverb
-
Instead of The Expanse’s sprawling epic of humanity’s journey to the stars, The Captive’s War sees humans brought under the thumb of a ruthlessly controlling alien empire and struggling to resist, build lives and maybe even find a way to win.—
Sarah Lewin Frasier,
Scientific American,
10 Apr. 2026
-
The Apollo program was centrally planned and ruthlessly methodical.—
David W. Brown,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Now my son is dead after suffering unmercifully.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
6 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
The first hour, set at a resort that’s like a singles cruise through the Twilight Zone (or Bachelor in Paradise beamed in from a brutal alternate universe), contains some of the most pitilessly funny scenes of the filmmaker’s career.—
A.A. Dowd,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Victim Nyron Shaw’s father said the driver who mowed his son down last year in Ocean Hill a day before Independence Day should face the maximum penalty for allegedly driving twice the speed limit and heartlessly taking off, leaving his son to die.—
Nicholas Williams,
New York Daily News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
In the process, Joel heartlessly killed some innocent people, including medical professionals.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
26 Aug. 2025
Adverb
-
Marley’s level of fame and influence meant that, after his death at 36, his legacy, his spirit, his brand was to be shaped by a record industry that could be callously indifferent to truth or quality at the expense of revenue.—
Eric Harvey,
Pitchfork,
18 Jan. 2026
-
Some industry representatives ahead of the meeting expressed worry that attending risked casting them as willing participants in a callously opportunistic grab for Venezuela’s crude, people familiar with the matter said.—
Bloomberg Wire,
Dallas Morning News,
10 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Kahlo vibrantly and unsparingly depicted herself and events from her life, which was upended by a bus accident at 18.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
30 Nov. 2025
-
Kahlo vibrantly and unsparingly depicted herself and events from her life, which was upended by a bus accident at 18.—
Hannah Schoenbaum,
Fortune,
24 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
For those who know the play well, some of Mantello’s choices are most striking, especially the horror here of the famous hotel-room scene with a tawdry lover (brutally played by Katherine Romans), an act born of loneliness that destroys a father’s relationship with his son forever.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
The woman told officers that at some point, Morehead came back and brutally attacked her, including punching her in the face and stomach and dragging her back inside.—
Meredith Colias-Pete,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Building Alligator Alcatraz and being proud of treating people inhumanely while at the same time stealing money for his charity is disgusting.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Mar. 2026
-
The oversight tour came after activists alleged detainees were being treated inhumanely at the facility.—
Tim Dunn,
Boston Herald,
14 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mercilessly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mercilessly. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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