ruthless
- 1Having or showing no pity or compassion; cruel.
The protesters faced a ruthless dictator who crushed every sign of dissent.
She plays a ruthless gang boss who shows her rivals no mercy at all.
Similarmerciless, pitiless, cruel, heartless, brutal
Oppositemerciful, compassionate, kind, humane
Note
The word wears its parts openly: ruth, an old noun for pity, plus -less. Its opposite, ruthful, is built from the same noun, though readers today meet ruth far more often inside ruthless than on its own. Alexander Pope's Odyssey (1725) gives the word to the sea god, "the ruthless Monarch of the Main", who alone keeps up his rage.
- 2Refusing to compromise or let up; unrelenting.
The editor's ruthless pruning cut the manuscript by a third.
The team played with ruthless efficiency, scoring three goals in ten minutes.
Similarrelentless, unsparing, remorseless, unrelenting
Note
Here the cruelty of the pitiless sense fades into thoroughness, and the word can even praise: ruthless efficiency, a ruthless edit, a team that punishes every mistake. Context sets the tone, and beside words like systematic or merciless it turns harsh again, as when a naval commander's raids on the African coast are called "absolutely ruthless and systematic".
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English reuþeles, equivalent to ruth + -less.