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If someone can be ruthless, can one also be ruthful?
Ruthless can be defined as "without ruth" or "having no ruth." So what, then, is ruth? The noun ruth, which is now considerably less common than ruthless, means "compassion for the misery of another," "sorrow for one's own faults," or "remorse." And, just as it is possible for one to be without ruth, it is also possible to be full of ruth. The antonym of ruthless is ruthful, meaning "full of ruth" or "tender." Ruthful can also mean "full of sorrow" or "causing sorrow." Ruth can be traced back to the Middle English noun ruthe, itself from ruen, meaning "to rue" or "to feel regret, remorse, or sorrow."
Synonyms
- affectless
- callous
- case-hardened
- cold-blooded
- compassionless
- desensitized
- hard
- hard-boiled
- hard-hearted
- heartless
- indurate
- inhuman
- inhumane
- insensate
- insensitive
- ironhearted
- merciless
- obdurate
- pachydermatous
- pitiless
- remorseless
- slash-and-burn
- soulless
- stony
- stoney
- stonyhearted
- take-no-prisoners
- thick-skinned
- uncharitable
- unfeeling
- unmerciful
- unsparing
- unsympathetic
Examples of ruthless in a Sentence
Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 June 2024
Many Black people were forced to continue to labor under the oppression of ruthless enslavers and unscrupulous plantation owners.
—Deneen L. Brown, Washington Post, 19 June 2024
In seasons 1–3, Academy Award winner James Coburn gave voice to Captain Planet's ruthless poacher and crooked business mogul Looten Plunder.
—John Russell, Peoplemag, 18 June 2024
It is also known for having a ruthless current, a subject of official warnings.
—Julia Daye, Miami Herald, 18 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for ruthless 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ruthless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Ruthless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruthless. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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