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 This summer will not repeat the last, where 14 new players arrived at a cost of £170million ($228m) to ruthlessly overhaul a promotion-winning squad. — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 22 July 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 Needing 49 from 24 balls as the endgame loomed, England was still second favorite until Bishnoi fell apart and Bethell cashed in ruthlessly in the 17th. — ABC News, 4 July 2026 When America was ruthlessly attacked on September 11, 2001, sports brought healing. — Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 4 July 2026 Leaders must immediately audit burn rate, freeze nonessential spend, tighten inventory cycles and reforecast ruthlessly. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026 In Britain, all the large predators had long since been exterminated and the smaller ones (like foxes) were ruthlessly persecuted. — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 22 June 2026 This episode is hilarious, but it’s been so ruthlessly hacked down to giggle moments and ironic smash-cuts that important action and context are missing. — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 16 June 2026 With his rakish sneer and ruthlessly tight jodhpurs, Rupert has been thoroughly neutered with irony, transformed into an object for women to pick at. — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruthlessly
  1. mercilessly
  2. pitilessly
  3. heartlessly
  4. unmercifully
  5. callously
  6. unsparingly
  7. brutally
  8. inhumanly
Adverb
  • 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
  • Long pants in summer may not be at the top of your shopping list, but this set is so handy (and polished) for travel days or times in the office when the AC is mercilessly blasting.
    — Annie Blackman, InStyle, 23 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
  • 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
  • The department was known to operate callously, firing people by email or locking them out of buildings.
    — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 10 June 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
  • In 2022, four University of Idaho students were brutally stabbed to death in their off-campus home.
    — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 30 July 2026
  • Before dawn on November 13, 2022, four students at the University of Idaho—Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle—were brutally murdered in an off-campus home.
    — ForbesTV, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
Definition of brutally
Adverb
  • For her next project, she’s headed as far from there as humanly (or inhumanly) possible.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 24 June 2026
Definition of inhumanly

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Cite this Entry

“Ruthlessly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruthlessly. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

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