as in mercilessness
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Recent Examples of ruthlessness
The British police, however, were given an indication of Daniel’s ruthlessness.
—
Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 20 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
Republicans, however, are now wielding state power with growing precision and ruthlessness.
—Time, 10 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
Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 20 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
Republicans, however, are now wielding state power with growing precision and ruthlessness.
—Time, 10 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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Also on Sunday, Jacqueline’s aunt, Jackelyn Garcia, 28, was arrested and charged with intentional cruelty to a child under the age of 19, risk of injury to a child and first-degree unlawful restraint.—
KC Baker,
PEOPLE,
14 Oct. 2025
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Other scary asylum stories highlighted a fear of institutional cruelty — of authority figures with total power over vulnerable patients.—
Jen Rose Smith,
CNN Money,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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
-
The Guardsmen in McPherson Square, ferried there by U.S. Park Service personnel, seemed a world removed from crime and savagery and scum.—
Tom Vanden Brook,
USA Today,
5 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
-
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
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The sight of Musk swinging a chainsaw onstage at a conservative conference captured the pell-mell approach, not to mention the brutality, of the billionaire’s plan to bring the federal government to heel.—
Andy Kroll,
New Yorker,
17 Oct. 2025
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And as civil rights protesters proved decades ago, a righteous, peaceful protest that is met with brutality can unmute even a silent majority.—
Nancy Gibbs,
Time,
17 Oct. 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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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
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Netanyahu is the excuse for staying silent about Israeli barbarity in Palestine.—
Uriel Kon
September 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Behind your curious browsing is one bobbed and bleary-eyed writer searching for the best October Prime Day deals with a ferocity known only to coupon-cutters.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
8 Oct. 2025
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And the ferocity of their competition was seemingly undimmed by any notion of team loyalty, as the two drivers clashed at the start of the Singapore Grand Prix.—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
5 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ruthlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruthlessness. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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