ruthless

English

Etymology

From Middle English reuþeles; equivalent to ruth +‎ -less.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹuːθləs/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

ruthless (comparative more ruthless, superlative most ruthless)

1. Without pity or compassion; cruel, pitiless.

   Antonym: ruthful

   • 1725, Homer, translated by Alexander Pope et al., The Odyssey of Homer, volume I, Bernard Lintot, page 10:

     At length their rage the hoſtile Pow’rs reſtrain, / All but the ruthleſs Monarch of the Main.

Related terms

• ruthlessness

Translations

without pity or compassion

• Arabic: قَاسٍ (qāsin)
• Armenian: անգութ (hy) (angutʻ), դաժան (hy) (dažan)
• Basque: errukigabe
• Belarusian: бязлі́тасны (bjazlítasny), бязжа́ласлівы (bjazžálaslivy)
• Bulgarian: безми́лостен (bg) (bezmílosten), безскру́пулен (bg) (bezskrúpulen)
• Catalan: despietat (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 殘忍／残忍 (zh) (cánrěn), 無情／无情 (zh) (wúqíng)

• Czech: bezohledný (cs), nemilosrdný (cs)
• Danish: skånselløs, skånselsløs
• Dutch: onbarmhartig (nl), meedogenloos (nl)
• Esperanto: senkompata
• Finnish: armoton (fi), säälimätön (fi)
• French: impitoyable (fr)
• Galician: desapiadado (gl)
• Georgian: შეუბრალებელი (šeubralebeli), ულმობელი (ulmobeli)
• German: unbarmherzig (de), ruchlos (de), gnadenlos (de)
• Greek: αδίστακτος (el) (adístaktos)

  Ancient: ἄνοικτος (ánoiktos)

• Hungarian: könyörtelen (hu)
• Italian: spietato (it), crudele (it)
• Japanese: 無情な (ja) (むじょうな, mujō na), 残酷な (ja) (ざんこくな, zankoku na), 無慈悲な (ja) (むじひな, mujihi na)
• Khmer: គ្មានមេត្តា (kmiən meittaa)
• Korean: 무자비하다 (mujabihada)
• Latin: crūdēlis
• Macedonian: немилосрден (nemilosrden), безмилосен (bezmilosen)
• Maori: ngākau whakawiri
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: харгис хэрцгий (xargis xercgii)

  Roman: nȅmilosrdan (sh)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: hensynsløs, ubarmhjertig (no)

• Occitan: despietadós (oc)
• Ottoman Turkish: دینسز (dinsiz)
• Polish: bezwzględny (pl), bezpardonowy (pl)
• Portuguese: impiedoso
• Romanian: nemilos (ro)
• Russian: безжа́лостный (ru) (bezžálostnyj), беспоща́дный (ru) (bespoščádnyj), жесто́кий (ru) (žestókij)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: не̏милосрдан

• Shor: ачынмас
• Slovak: bezohľadný, nemilosrdný
• Slovene: neusmiljen, trdosrčen
• Spanish: despiadado (es)
• Swedish: hänsynslös (sv), skoningslös (sv), obarmhärtig (sv)
• Thai: เหี้ยม (th) (hîiam)
• Turkish: acımasız (tr)
• Ukrainian: безжа́лісний (uk) (bezžálisnyj), безжа́льний (uk) (bezžálʹnyj), безпоща́дний (uk) (bezpoščádnyj)
• Vietnamese: tàn nhẫn (vi)

Anagrams

• Selhurst, hurtless, hustlers, sluthers