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
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Recent Examples of take-no-prisoners
Anna may be be the most solid of the bunch, a take-no-prisoners (so to speak) type who may be sturdier than any of the men.
—
Pete Hammond, Deadline, 26 Jan. 2026
Ed O’Bradovich, the young, take-no-prisoners defensive end, was a product of Proviso East High School.
—Charles Billington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
Ricky Gervais has hosted the Golden Globes five times, making Hollywood sweat with his take-no-prisoners approach to jokes mocking showbiz.
—William Earl, Variety, 30 Dec. 2025
Directed by genre-hopping Ben Wheatley and written by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad from a story hatched by Kolstad and Odenkirk, the subversive Western is a take-no-prisoners gore fest that peppers all the visceral carnage with an equal sprinkling of dry wit.
—Michael Rechtshaffen, HollywoodReporter, 15 Sep. 2025
Nothing about Francis Lawrence’s take-no-prisoners adaptation of Richard Bachman’s (aka Stephen King) staggering novel offers one shard of hope for any of us to wrap our bloodied fingers around.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025
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
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
Trump’s White House is accustomed to take-no-prisoners political messaging, continuing its aggressive style from last year’s campaign that critics describe as callous and vindictive.
—Chris Megerian, Fortune, 23 May 2025
Pete Hammond, Deadline, 26 Jan. 2026
Ed O’Bradovich, the young, take-no-prisoners defensive end, was a product of Proviso East High School.
—Charles Billington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
Ricky Gervais has hosted the Golden Globes five times, making Hollywood sweat with his take-no-prisoners approach to jokes mocking showbiz.
—William Earl, Variety, 30 Dec. 2025
Directed by genre-hopping Ben Wheatley and written by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad from a story hatched by Kolstad and Odenkirk, the subversive Western is a take-no-prisoners gore fest that peppers all the visceral carnage with an equal sprinkling of dry wit.
—Michael Rechtshaffen, HollywoodReporter, 15 Sep. 2025
Nothing about Francis Lawrence’s take-no-prisoners adaptation of Richard Bachman’s (aka Stephen King) staggering novel offers one shard of hope for any of us to wrap our bloodied fingers around.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025
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
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
Trump’s White House is accustomed to take-no-prisoners political messaging, continuing its aggressive style from last year’s campaign that critics describe as callous and vindictive.
—Chris Megerian, Fortune, 23 May 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for take-no-prisoners
Adjective
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Amongst the sandy plains of the Burning Springs region and throngs of raiders and ruthless cap collectors is Prime Video’s Fallout character, The Ghoul (Walton Goggins).—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
26 Feb. 2026
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That’s thanks in one part to a gripping flash-forward narrative structure now so common it could be considered a cliché, and in another to Glenn Close’s indelible performance as ruthless litigator Patty Hewes.—
Matt Brennan,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Though both storms are similar — with a major storm system lingering over the region for over a day and whipping the region with merciless hurricane-level winds, driving inch after inch of wet snow — what made the 1978 storm so devastating was the apparent suddenness of its arrival.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
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These are two of the most conniving, merciless people on television, and they’re bonded by the twin desire to be more like the other.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Take-no-prisoners.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/take-no-prisoners. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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