MERCILESSNESS Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

mercilessness

noun

as in ruthlessness

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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 mercilessness And though Din Djarian has a touch of revenge-thriller mercilessness about him, that’s more than offset by the fact that his apprentice and symbolic son is Grogu, an infant member of the same humanoid-alien species as Yoda. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 19 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mercilessness

Noun

Directed by Martin Scorsese and set in the late 80s and early 90s, the movie starred Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, an uninhibited young stockbroker who becomes enamored by the excess and ruthlessness of Wall Street.

— Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 19 July 2026
Something in the liberal heart recoils in the face of righteous ruthlessness.

— David Brooks, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026

Definition of ruthlessness

Noun

Gail Giustino, 77, was arrested and charged with two misdemeanors, including animal cruelty and confining an animal without sufficient food or water, Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek shared in a press conference on Monday, July 20.

— Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 22 July 2026
The animal-cruelty fight is part of a broader pretrial battle over how jurors will see the couple’s volatile relationship.

— Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 18 July 2026

Definition of cruelty

Noun

This savagery can last up to a week before the mature larvae fall to the ground.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026
While our money would be on The Last Son of Krypton in a main card matchup, Lobo fights dirty with a level of primal savagery that just might put the Big Blue Boy Scout and his cousin down for a few rounds.

— Jeff Spry, Space.com, 6 June 2026

Definition of savagery

Noun

These young graduates start out naive about the heartlessness of the corporate world and harbor illusory hopes for success in unforgiving professions.

— George Packer, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2026
The lives of the two children in the story, aged fourteen and four, are portrayed as being as fleeting as the fireflies, and the story is an unsentimental and unflinching account with moments of both tenderness and heartlessness.

— Ginny Tapley Takemori September 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025

Definition of heartlessness

Noun

The report comes as the RSF lays siege to El Obeid, where analysts say similar barbarity is imminent.

— Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 9 July 2026
The barbarity of the institution, meanwhile, is self-evident—but rarely does an author present its abuses so powerfully and vividly.

— The Atlantic, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026

Definition of barbarity

Noun

Chiarella takes time between bouts of danger to show affection and intimacy that, in defiance of teen-slasher formula, isn’t immediately penalized with sadism.

— Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
Here, animals serve as vessels for our worst impulses, suffering at the point where curiosity turns to sadism, domination to cruelty, and self-interest to neglect.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 June 2026

Definition of sadism

Noun

Crump and the family thanked the community for its support and encouraged people to continue to speak out against police brutality.

— Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 24 July 2026
The novel also alludes to contemporary examples of violence in the country’s current, democratic system, gesturing to the ways in which brutality persists in Brazil as state and corporate power continue to commit violence with near impunity.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 July 2026

Definition of brutality

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mercilessly

mercilessness

mercurial

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“Mercilessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mercilessness. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of mercilessness

noun

Example Sentences

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