as in mercilessness
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Recent Examples of ruthlessness
Delcy, a lifelong ideologue, earned a reputation for ruthlessness and competency, running Maduro’s foreign ministry and later managing both the economy and the country’s oil industry.
—
Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
Cheery and resolute Vault 33 dweller Lucy (Ella Purnell) left her underground home to find her abducted father, Hank (Kyle MacLachlan), and in doing so realized the difficulty of living by the golden rule in a world that’s defined by ruthlessness and want.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2025
Through the voices of those who loved him and those who feared him, Breslin peels back the composure that masked Gambino’s ruthlessness, revealing how this outsider rose to redefine power, loyalty and the American dream.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 13 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
Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
Cheery and resolute Vault 33 dweller Lucy (Ella Purnell) left her underground home to find her abducted father, Hank (Kyle MacLachlan), and in doing so realized the difficulty of living by the golden rule in a world that’s defined by ruthlessness and want.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2025
Through the voices of those who loved him and those who feared him, Breslin peels back the composure that masked Gambino’s ruthlessness, revealing how this outsider rose to redefine power, loyalty and the American dream.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 13 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruthlessness
Noun
-
The American people must reject this cruelty and extremism.—
Ali Bauman,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Does their lack of kindness grant you permission to respond with equal insensitivity or even cruelty?—
Michael Isaacson,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Its savagery was all the more disturbing knowing what a compassionate, effective man Rob Reiner was in life and work.—
Matt Zoller Seitz,
Vulture,
16 Dec. 2025
-
Then came the October 7, 2023, savagery by Hamas that took the lives of more than 1,200 innocent Jews—40 years after the attack on America’s troops in Beirut.—
Lee Habeeb,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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 9 Jan. 2026.
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