as in merciless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
an office supervisor with a ruthless disregard for others' feelings
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Recent Examples of ruthless
Meanwhile, in Chiwetel Ejiofor's Operative — a ruthless, monologue-loving Alliance agent hellbent on capturing River — the movie has a chilling, yet strangely sympathetic, antagonist.
—
Richard Edwards, Space.com, 30 Sep. 2025
Satan’s Sadists, about a ruthless motorcycle gang, was their first production, shot in California in 1968.
—Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025
Voight portrayed Coach Bud Kilmer, the ruthless football coach obsessed with winning.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2025
In another example of a ruthless campaign to crush dissent, Cuban authorities sentenced the wife of a Cuban political prisoner to 14 years in prison for charges of acting against state security, for which she had been previously acquitted due to lack of evidence.
—Nora Gamez Torres, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruthless
Richard Edwards, Space.com, 30 Sep. 2025
Satan’s Sadists, about a ruthless motorcycle gang, was their first production, shot in California in 1968.
—Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025
Voight portrayed Coach Bud Kilmer, the ruthless football coach obsessed with winning.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2025
In another example of a ruthless campaign to crush dissent, Cuban authorities sentenced the wife of a Cuban political prisoner to 14 years in prison for charges of acting against state security, for which she had been previously acquitted due to lack of evidence.
—Nora Gamez Torres, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruthless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruthless
merciless
Adjective
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The novel intertwines present-day events with painful memories of the lives of her parents, who tried to protect their love from war, jealousy, and the cruelty of the merciless Soviet government.—
Nelly Klos
September 29,
Literary Hub,
29 Sep. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Ruthless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruthless. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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