as in ruthlessness
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mercilessness
Noun
-
England dominated possession in both games, registering 31 shots in each, but lacked ruthlessness in front of goal.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
8 Mar. 2026 -
But, for much of the 2000s, reality television insisted that this was possible, never with more fervor, ruthlessness, and capitalist commitment than on America’s Next Top Model.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Christopher Lucas was arraigned in Quincy District Court, facing charges that include animal cruelty and hunting without a license.—
Penny Kmitt,
CBS News,
10 Mar. 2026
-
For too long, Wyoming has been an outlier in tolerating extreme cruelty toward its wild carnivores.—
Wendy Keefover,
Denver Post,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Some of the worst savagery took place in the Philippines, after the United States acquired it in 1898.—
Jonathan Zimmerman,
New York Daily News,
13 Mar. 2026
-
The government may not have hired Bobbi or urged Ghirotti to seek his petty revenge, but the men’s savagery is inseparable from that of a state sustained by atrocity.—
Michael Snyder,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
But the level of violence, the level of inhumanity, the level of atrocity in Iran, is what moves me.—
Lily Moayeri,
Rolling Stone,
3 Mar. 2026
-
His cinema verite style powerfully exposed the horrific inhumanity of public institutions (like hospitals, schools and housing projects) supposedly created to help people.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
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
Noun
-
Thousands of children have been terrorized, detained, and many have been deported because of ICE’s unchecked barbarity.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Cathy escapes, the Jimmies' numbers are diminished, and the stomach-churning barbarity finally comes to an end.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The series begins before Gein has ever killed, in 1945, as dawning awareness of death camps in Europe fills the air with sadism and conspiracy thinking.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
30 Sep. 2025
-
The invading parasite is a culture of hate and paranoia and sadism — mass hysteria as sanctioned by the government that is supposed to protect you.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Crump is known for representing relatives of victims of high-profile police brutality cases.—
Rebecca Ellis,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Throughout, the camera lingers on Bobbi’s taut body and adonic profile; beauty and brutality are never far apart.—
Michael Snyder,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Mercilessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mercilessness. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
