Synonyms of merciless

merciless

adjective

ˈmər-si-ləs 

as in ruthless

having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings

she is a merciless competitor at board games of any kind

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ruthless
• pitiless
• stony
• brutal
• hard
• oppressive
• harsh
• unmerciful
• cruel
• abusive
• remorseless
• heartless
• callous
• vicious
• inhuman
• malicious
• hateful
• compassionless
• unsparing
• tough
• stern
• inhumane
• soulless
• unfeeling
• obdurate
• take-no-prisoners
• insensitive
• hard-hearted
• unsympathetic
• uncharitable
• grim
• cold-blooded
• insensate
• thick-skinned
• slash-and-burn
• severe
• savage
• indurate
• affectless
• case-hardened
• stoney
• pachydermatous
• desensitized
• hard-boiled
• thoughtless
• uncaring
• ironhearted
• rough
• heedless
• mean
• unthinking
• stonyhearted
• ungentle
• unfriendly
• boorish
• inconsiderate
• spiteful
• malevolent
• unloving
• virulent
• cold
• disagreeable
• rough-and-tumble
• heavy-handed
• brutish
• barbarous
• surly
• ironfisted
• acrimonious
• bestial
• jackbooted
• ill-tempered
• sledgehammer
• rancorous
• ill-natured
• ironhanded
• hard-bitten
• evil-minded
• austere
• knock-down-and-drag-out
• frosty
• knock-down, drag-out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sympathetic
• warm
• sensitive
• merciful
• gentle
• humane
• compassionate
• charitable
• benevolent
• kind
• kindly
• mild
• tender
• lenient
• friendly
• kindhearted
• indulgent
• gracious
• softhearted
• warmhearted
• tenderhearted
• cordial
• benignant
• loving
• tolerant
• affectionate
• good-natured
• understanding
• clement
• fond
• good-tempered

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of merciless

The community that had long been home to hundreds of entertainment industry workers was engulfed by a wildfire whipped into a merciless inferno by 80-mile an hour winds. —Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 13 Jan. 2025

Scarcity of food and clean water have become merciless tormentors, and the numbers tell a story that words cannot fully convey. —Daphne Ewing-Chow, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025

The veteran critic for The Telegraph is merciless with one flop criterion: financial loss, achieved (if that’s the word) by all of these films but not, for example, by Waterworld (which apparently squeaked into the black). —Nicolas Rapold, airmail.news, 21 Dec. 2024

Season 2 doesn’t top the shocking novelty of the first season, made iconic by that giant mechanical girl in charge of a merciless game of red light, green light. —Tom Gliatto, People.com, 26 Dec. 2024