RUTHLESSNESS Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

ruthlessness

noun

Definition of ruthlessness

as in mercilessness

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Recent Examples of ruthlessness The danger occurs if that ruthlessness veers into institutional coldness. — James McNicholas, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026 But this time, the Players entered the palace fully aware of the format’s twists and traps, armed with strategies, stronger instincts, and a ruthlessness that caught me off guard. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026 Russia’s war on Ukraine has become a grinding tally of raw numbers, and Kyiv is executing its strategy with the ruthlessness of a corporate efficiency expert, according to the RAND think tank. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 3 Aug. 2026 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 The series follows a fictionalized version of the Westies, a small Irish-American gang in the mid- to late-20th century whose ruthlessness and brutality gave them an outsized reputation. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 2 July 2026 Released at the tail end of Reaganomics, Carpenter’s most politically forward thriller now feels like a decoder ring for ’80s-era greed, detachment, complacency and ruthlessness. — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026 The new manager was quick to promise change, ruthlessness and sacrifice in helping turn the club around. — Thomas Schlachter, CNN Money, 23 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruthlessness

Noun

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

Definition of mercilessness

Noun

Law enforcement sources involved in the case told WJZ that the horse was being cared for by someone who is facing animal cruelty and abandonment charges in an unrelated case in West Virginia.

— Tara Lynch, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026
The real problem is the culture, and when culture rewards cruelty, the damage spreads.

— Jodi Bondi Norgaard, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 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 film, which is playing Out of Competition on the Lido, charts the brutality of Spanish friar Padre Enciso over the population in the 17th century.

— Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2026
Centrist Democrats are not socialists, not revolutionaries, and not disposed to blame Zionist conspiracies for every trouble in American life, including police brutality and urban gentrification.

— David Frum, The Atlantic, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of brutality

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

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ruthlessness

ruts

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“Ruthlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruthlessness. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of ruthlessness

noun

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