as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
a theater critic with a take-no-prisoners approach to reviewing Broadway's latest offerings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of take-no-prisoners
The fact that any remaining mutual admiration is fueled by mutual animosity is thus introduced right up front, and the movie wastes zero time setting out the rules of engagement for what will soon become take-no-prisoners warfare between the Roses.
—
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2025
The third-favorite in New York, Strategic Focus, stands at 10-1 in Britain, which is to say, the take-no-prisoners London bookies think that the 6-1 New York odds are not high enough to reflect his chance of losing to Sovereignty by a measure of nearly fifty percent.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2025
Newsom’s take-no-prisoners social media strategy has gone viral.
—Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 19 Aug. 2025
Karen Read and her attorney Alan Jackson, who just signed on to the latest twist in this take-no-prisoners legal struggle, aren’t sweating the sad wrongful-death suit brought in Plymouth County by John O’Keefe’s family.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 6 Aug. 2025
Hackman plays a take-no-prisoners FBI agent, Rupert Anderson, who is investigating the disappearance of three young civil rights workers in racially segregated 1964 Mississippi.
—George Skelton, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2025
Depending on your perspective, of course, some of these use cases might not be unethical, but the tension between these survey answers encouraged me: far from being nihilistic, take-no-prisoners cheaters, my students seemed genuinely confused.
—Piers Gelly
july 28, Literary Hub, 28 July 2025
But Groff’s take-no-prisoners performance as nightclub superstar Bobby Darin is pure Broadway, and thoroughly – and more than justifiably – winning.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 6 June 2025
Harrison confidently adopts the take-no-prisoners physicality that makes Zephyr a worthy foe for Tucker, but her line readings are bland, doing nothing to enliven the basic script by Nick Lepard.
—Esther Zuckerman, IndieWire, 17 May 2025
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2025
The third-favorite in New York, Strategic Focus, stands at 10-1 in Britain, which is to say, the take-no-prisoners London bookies think that the 6-1 New York odds are not high enough to reflect his chance of losing to Sovereignty by a measure of nearly fifty percent.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2025
Newsom’s take-no-prisoners social media strategy has gone viral.
—Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 19 Aug. 2025
Karen Read and her attorney Alan Jackson, who just signed on to the latest twist in this take-no-prisoners legal struggle, aren’t sweating the sad wrongful-death suit brought in Plymouth County by John O’Keefe’s family.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 6 Aug. 2025
Hackman plays a take-no-prisoners FBI agent, Rupert Anderson, who is investigating the disappearance of three young civil rights workers in racially segregated 1964 Mississippi.
—George Skelton, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2025
Depending on your perspective, of course, some of these use cases might not be unethical, but the tension between these survey answers encouraged me: far from being nihilistic, take-no-prisoners cheaters, my students seemed genuinely confused.
—Piers Gelly
july 28, Literary Hub, 28 July 2025
But Groff’s take-no-prisoners performance as nightclub superstar Bobby Darin is pure Broadway, and thoroughly – and more than justifiably – winning.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 6 June 2025
Harrison confidently adopts the take-no-prisoners physicality that makes Zephyr a worthy foe for Tucker, but her line readings are bland, doing nothing to enliven the basic script by Nick Lepard.
—Esther Zuckerman, IndieWire, 17 May 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for take-no-prisoners
Adjective
-
Hunted by the ruthless crime boss that Don worked for and learned all the boss’s sinister secrets — Perlman plays him — Don has a reason to seek redemption.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Witness Alex Hales’ ruthless removal.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
In 1918, Bolshevik secret police forced Anastasia Romanov and her imperial family into a damp basement to face a merciless firing squad.—
Ashlee Conour,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Sep. 2025
-
The lengthy, merciless caption is basically the rock equivalent of Miranda Priestly’s cerulean sweater takedown.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Take-no-prisoners.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/take-no-prisoners. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share