ruthlessly

adverb

Definition of ruthlesslynext
as in mercilessly

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Example Sentences

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 ruthlessly Both ruthlessly practical decisions had creative consequences in the series’ futures. — Neil Oseman, Space.com, 21 Sep. 2026 Defensively, Chelsea ruthlessly exploited loose marking and errors, and the scoreline could have been even more painful without some fine saves by goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce. — Cerys Jones, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026 The Joker, Batman movies Batman’s greatest adversary is ruthlessly, functionally insane. — Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Sep. 2026 The first at Lord's was only 110 on Friday, and two days later England's all-seam attack was ruthlessly picking apart the top order again. — ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026 In your case, the truth is that this friend has been ruthlessly — and rudely — taking advantage of your good nature. — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026 Show your unique speaking style For decades, communication coaches counseled clients to ruthlessly eliminate verbal tics and awkward pauses. — Matt Abrahams, Time, 5 Aug. 2026 But when the swirl of events beyond their control caught them into something immeasurably larger than a single game of soccer, not even the strength of their new mentality was enough to prevent them from being ruthlessly swept away. — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 7 July 2026 When America was ruthlessly attacked on September 11, 2001, sports brought healing. — Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 4 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruthlessly
  1. mercilessly
  2. pitilessly
  3. heartlessly
  4. unmercifully
  5. callously
  6. unsparingly
  7. brutally
  8. tyrannically
Adverb
  • This is no small feat in a city where working class locals are priced out mercilessly to make way for the ultra-wealthy here to work on their winter tans.
    — Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Despite her clear influence, Rico was mercilessly heckled by Carti fans during her performance at the Portland tour stop.
    — Mehan Jayasuriya, Pitchfork, 24 July 2026
Definition of mercilessly
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
Definition of pitilessly
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
Definition of heartlessly
Adverb
  • Any party member who seeks to defy his wishes risks losing a seat, being unmercifully gaslit, or trashed on Truth Social.
    — Rob Crilly, The Washington Examiner, 22 May 2026
  • Now my son is dead after suffering unmercifully.
    — Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 6 Feb. 2026
Definition of unmercifully
Adverb
  • The biggest fear for people who want to see books preserved through the training process is that AI firms will callously pulp rare books that can never be replaced.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Conventional wisdom callously had it that audiences might never return, especially after the pandemic in 2020 was followed in short order in 2023 by two prolonged industrywide strikes.
    — Adam Aron, Variety, 29 July 2026
Definition of callously
Adverb
  • 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
  • The episode unsparingly examines cultural assumptions about race and colorism; similarly, HIM is a scathing critique of how professional sports capitalize upon the bodies and minds of Black athletes.
    — Neda Ulaby, NPR, 19 Sep. 2025
Definition of unsparingly
Adverb
  • Each episode, the brutally honest Ramsay comes in to help the struggling restaurant fix its problems or its negative image, and in turn the restaurants get publicity from being on a national television show.
    — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026
  • She’d been brutally murdered, and Icelandic police needed to know why.
    — HubSpot, HubSpot, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of brutally
Adverb
  • But his voice tyrannically resounds with sadistic orders and conservative cultural commentary during the second-act flashback scene, in which a fateful day on the set of the show changes the lives of Ronika and Blair.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Gulliver’s third voyage takes him to the flying island of Laputa, which rules tyrannically over several territories situated below.
    — Dónal Gill, The Dial, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of tyrannically

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Cite this Entry

“Ruthlessly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruthlessly. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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