as in mercilessness
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Recent Examples of ruthlessness
Like the Rudy Giuliani mayoralty, but sort of impotent in ruthlessness, the Adams administration has loved to identify a scourge, an opportunity to conjure existential threats of social breakdown that the mayor’s office can then claim to heal.
—
Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2025
Their replacements, Hakeem Jeffries and John Thune, are capable enough but lack Pelosi and McConnell’s canny ruthlessness.
—Molly Ball, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
There are shades of a more stylish Terminator to Amos’ ruthlessness, but Balogun never loses track of the mixture of human pain and professionalism that drives him.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025
This was the Netherlands being defeated by a less flamboyant side, but one which offered technical skill, tactical quality and a sense of disciplined ruthlessness and defensive quality that all winning sides must possess.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
Mallett wants to expand her business without that ruthlessness.
—La Risa R. Lynch, jsonline.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Rupert Murdoch has built a record and a reputation for ruthlessness.
—David Folkenflik, NPR, 8 Sep. 2025
But expert Sung Yoon Lee believes that Kim Yo-jong is positioning herself to take over, given her reputation for ruthlessness, arrogance and ambition.
—Natasha Lindstaedt, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Mexico's fastest-rising cartel, the Jalisco New Generation gang, has a reputation for ruthlessness and violence unlike any since the fall of the old Zetas cartel.
—Sonam Sheth
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025
Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2025
Their replacements, Hakeem Jeffries and John Thune, are capable enough but lack Pelosi and McConnell’s canny ruthlessness.
—Molly Ball, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
There are shades of a more stylish Terminator to Amos’ ruthlessness, but Balogun never loses track of the mixture of human pain and professionalism that drives him.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025
This was the Netherlands being defeated by a less flamboyant side, but one which offered technical skill, tactical quality and a sense of disciplined ruthlessness and defensive quality that all winning sides must possess.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
Mallett wants to expand her business without that ruthlessness.
—La Risa R. Lynch, jsonline.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Rupert Murdoch has built a record and a reputation for ruthlessness.
—David Folkenflik, NPR, 8 Sep. 2025
But expert Sung Yoon Lee believes that Kim Yo-jong is positioning herself to take over, given her reputation for ruthlessness, arrogance and ambition.
—Natasha Lindstaedt, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Mexico's fastest-rising cartel, the Jalisco New Generation gang, has a reputation for ruthlessness and violence unlike any since the fall of the old Zetas cartel.
—Sonam Sheth
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruthlessness
Noun
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The film instead offers an intimate, unhurried exploration of human cruelty.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
31 Oct. 2025
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Politically, both parties are trading blame—Republicans citing fiscal law, Democrats accusing the administration of cruelty—while the court’s decision could set a lasting precedent for how federal agencies manage safety-net programs during funding lapses.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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With the facial articulation of a silent film star crossed with the savagery of a post-Saw killer, Art went from underground curiosity to horror icon within a decade.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
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On that day, Islamist terrorists committed the worst savagery against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.—
Amira El-Fekki,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
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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
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With much of the world horrified by the USSR’s brutality, Eisenhower was furious that the British-French-Israeli offensive was both diverting international attention and handing Moscow a PR victory by enabling it to speak about Western aggression in the Middle East.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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The 1986 film also included accounts by former conscripts who had been forced to participate in the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, making clear the hopelessness and brutality of the war, starkly contrasting with the Kremlin’s version of a war of progress and purpose.—
Will Tizard,
Variety,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
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In the world of The Bone Temple, the infected are no longer the greatest threat to survival — the inhumanity of the survivors can be stranger and more terrifying.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Sep. 2025
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In the world of The Bone Temple, the infected are no longer the greatest threat to survival—the inhumanity of the survivors can be stranger and more terrifying.—
Jennifer Ouellette,
ArsTechnica,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Pritam’s Partition writings offer incisive critiques of the barbarity that became life with borders but also contest notions of belonging from a feminist perspective.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Oct. 2025
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Amid all the barbarity for barbarity’s sake, Jonsson carries the film with a deep well of unspoken regret.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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That immediately caused a bloody injury to her, and seemingly prompted her to return with not only a scar, but more intensity and ferocity.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
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Their story is different now, but there was no ferocity, no attempt to entrench West Ham’s struggle without remorse.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ruthlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruthlessness. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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