as in mercilessness
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Recent Examples of ruthlessness
The gossips leak letters indicating the family’s ruthlessness.
—
Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2026
As The Traitors heats up, Peacock is urging fans to keep the ruthlessness off social media.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Jan. 2026
There are several historical accounts of his ruthlessness to people at the fort.
—Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 24 Jan. 2026
The only difference between then and now isn’t just the impunity that has found a shield behind ICE’s black masks, but the ruthlessness behind the violence.
—Paola Ramos, Time, 12 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
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
Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2026
As The Traitors heats up, Peacock is urging fans to keep the ruthlessness off social media.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Jan. 2026
There are several historical accounts of his ruthlessness to people at the fort.
—Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 24 Jan. 2026
The only difference between then and now isn’t just the impunity that has found a shield behind ICE’s black masks, but the ruthlessness behind the violence.
—Paola Ramos, Time, 12 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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruthlessness
Noun
-
Newspaper headlines screamed that Welch had called out McCarthy for his cruelty, his ruthlessness and his lies.—
Kristen Monroe,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Call it the cruelty of small differences.—
Catherine Bray,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
By now, the Syrian opposition, once led by nonviolent protesters, was dominated by Islamists, who were divided and feckless and could be easily lumped together with the telegenic savageries of the Islamic State, known as ISIS.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
-
O’Connell is terrific, but both his character and his performance are badly served by the prolonged savagery of certain scenes.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
14 Jan. 2026
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
-
The sly blend of beauty and brutality is also apparent in the film’s sound design.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The protagonist, Frannie’s, story begins in a plantation in Jamaica, the brutality of which is chillingly evoked, but by moving much of the novel’s action to London, Sara Collins helps show just how tightly interwoven Black Caribbean history is with the history of the UK.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Short’s personality and complexity, attributes long discarded as her life became bastardized, stand in stark contrast to the inhumanity of her death.—
Nathan Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Once normalized, inhumanity – recast as efficiency – arguably became the defining logic of modern management: extracting ever more output to enrich owners, regardless of the human toll.—
Valerie L. Myers,
The Conversation,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Thousands of children have been terrorized, detained, and many have been deported because of ICE’s unchecked barbarity.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Cathy escapes, the Jimmies' numbers are diminished, and the stomach-churning barbarity finally comes to an end.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The ferocity of his younger years flashed.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The combustible mix of sensual spitfire and mama-bear ferocity has made Angela a controversial presence on the show.—
Sarah Hepola,
Dallas Morning News,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ruthlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruthlessness. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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