pitiless

adjective

piti·​less ˈpi-ti-ləs 

: devoid of pity : harsh, cruel

pitilessly adverb

pitilessness noun

Synonyms

• affectless
• callous
• case-hardened
• cold-blooded
• compassionless
• desensitized
• hard
• hard-boiled
• hard-hearted
• heartless
• indurate
• inhuman
• inhumane
• insensate
• insensitive
• ironhearted
• merciless
• obdurate
• pachydermatous
• remorseless
• ruthless
• slash-and-burn
• soulless
• stony
• stoney
• stonyhearted
• take-no-prisoners
• thick-skinned
• uncharitable
• unfeeling
• unmerciful
• unsparing
• unsympathetic

Examples of pitiless in a Sentence

The soldiers were pitiless toward their enemy.

gave the beggar in the street a pitiless look and kept on walking

Recent Examples on the Web

This fall, a 16-foot-tall pigeon — its chest puffed out proudly, head high, not down pecking at some errant pizza crust, its pitiless red-eye gaze looking out over the traffic — will alight on the spur of the High Line that bridges Tenth Avenue at 30th Street. —Carl Swanson, Curbed, 31 July 2024

Drugged, kidnapped, and manacled while a pitiless killer wears her face. —Keith Phipps, Vulture, 11 July 2024

Palomas are sweet and tart and bright and preternaturally refreshing, a worthy match for the pitiless heat of the Mexican summer, and deployed in great numbers whenever a little reprieve is in order. —Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 1 Aug. 2024

Is it not fated to a pitiless future of every man for himself? —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 18 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

pitiless

adjective

piti·​less ˈpit-i-ləs 

ˈpit-ᵊl-əs

: having no pity : harsh, cruel

pitilessly adverb