RUTHLESS: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for RUTHLESS?

Need another word that means the same as “ruthless”? Find 21 synonyms and 30 related words for “ruthless” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Ruthless” are: pitiless, remorseless, unpitying, merciless, cruel, heartless, hard, stony, cold-blooded, harsh, callous, severe, unmerciful, unrelenting, unsparing, unforgiving, unfeeling, uncaring, unsympathetic, uncharitable, lacking compassion

Ruthless as an Adjective

Definitions of "Ruthless" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “ruthless” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Having or showing no pity or compassion for others.
• Without mercy or pity.

Synonyms of "Ruthless" as an adjective (21 Words)

callous	Having calluses; having skin made tough and thick through wear. A callous indifference to suffering.
cold-blooded	Without compunction or human feeling.
cruel	Able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering. A cruel remark.
hard	Unfortunate or hard to bear. Why is it so hard for you to keep a secret.
harsh	Unkind or cruel or uncivil. The harsh facts of court delays.
heartless	Displaying a complete lack of feeling or consideration. Heartless thieves stole the pushchair of a two year old boy.
lacking compassion	Inadequate in amount or degree.
merciless	Having or showing no mercy. Gave him a merciless beating.
pitiless	Deficient in humane and kindly feelings. A night of pitiless rain.
remorseless	Without regret or guilt. Remorseless poverty.
severe	Severely simple. A parent severe to the pitch of hostility.
stony	Abounding in rocks or stones. Stony ground.
uncaring	Not feeling interest in or attaching importance to something. An uncaring person.
uncharitable	(of a person’s behaviour or attitude towards others) unkind; unsympathetic. All pious words and uncharitable deeds.
unfeeling	Lacking physical sensation or sensitivity. He lowered his numb unfeeling body into a seat and closed his eyes.
unforgiving	Unwilling or unable to forgive or show mercy. The moor can be a wild and unforgiving place in bad weather.
unmerciful	Cruel or harsh; showing no mercy. Deceptively inflated incomes expose many couples to unmerciful taxes.
unpitying	Without mercy or pity. A flat unpitying voice.
unrelenting	Punishingly harsh. The heat was unrelenting.
unsparing	Given freely and generously. She had won her mother s unsparing approval.
unsympathetic	(of characters in literature or drama) tending to evoke antipathetic feelings. A job temperamentally unsympathetic to him.

Usage Examples of "Ruthless" as an adjective

• A ruthless manipulator.
• An act of ruthless ferocity.

Associations of "Ruthless" (30 Words)

abrasive	Tending to rub or graze the skin. The trees were abrasive to the touch.
asperity	Something hard to endure. The asperity of northern winters.
austere	Practicing great self-denial. The cathedral is impressive in its austere simplicity.
biting	Capable of wounding. A biting wind.
bloodthirsty	(of a story or film) containing or depicting much violence. A bloodthirsty dictator.
brutal	Able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering. The brutal honesty of his observations.
brutish	Resembling or characteristic of a brute. He was coarse and brutish.
corrosive	A corrosive substance. Corrosive cristism.
cruel	Wilfully causing pain or suffering to others, or feeling no concern about it. People who are cruel to animals.
draconian	Of or relating to Draco or his harsh code of laws. The Nazis destroyed the independence of the press by a series of draconian laws.
ferocious	Savagely fierce, cruel, or violent. A ferocious headache.
gory	Covered in blood. A gory horror film.
harsh	Unkind or cruel or uncivil. The harsh facts of court delays.
inexorable	Impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, reason. The seemingly inexorable march of new technology.
inhumane	Without compassion for misery or suffering; cruel. Biological weapons are considered too inhumane to be used.
machiavellian	Of or relating to Machiavelli or the principles of conduct he recommended.
merciless	Having or showing no mercy. A merciless attack with a blunt instrument.
notorious	Known widely and usually unfavorably. A notorious gangster.
persecutor	Someone who torments. He became known as a persecutor of dissidents.
pitiless	Without mercy or pity. A pitiless executioner.
remorseless	Without regret or guilt. A remorseless killer.
repression	The restraint, prevention, or inhibition of a feeling, quality, etc. His goal was the repression of insolence.
rigorous	(of a person) adhering strictly to a belief or system. Rigorous application of the law.
sadistic	Deriving pleasure or sexual gratification from inflicting pain on another. She took a sadistic pleasure in tormenting him.
sanguinary	Marked by eagerness to resort to violence and bloodshed-G.W.Johnson. They lost heavily in the sanguinary campaigns that followed.
stringently	In a stringent manner. The laws are stringently enforced.
truculence	Obstreperous and defiant aggressiveness.
truculent	Defiantly aggressive. The truculent attitude of farmers to cheaper imports.
unkind	Deficient in humane and kindly feelings. You were terribly unkind to her.