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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
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2024
Storks Are Fascinating Beyond Their Brood Reducing Ways Despite their ruthless parenting, storks are fascinating creatures with other interesting traits.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Taking place in the same universe as hit sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds, which released in 2019, the episode revolves around similar themes of adventure, isolation, and ruthless corporate greed.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024
Expect jarring swings between popular, pro-growth moves and ruthless government gutting and payback.
—Axios, 16 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Ruthless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruthless. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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