ruthless

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

adj. relentless, merciless, inexorable, cruel. See severity.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

1. [Without pity; said of persons ]

Syn. pitiless, unpitying, merciless, unmerciful, tigerish, feral, ferine, ferocious, stony-hearted, heartless, obdurate, cold-blooded, remorseless, vindictive, vengeful, revengeful, rancorous, implacable, unforgiving, malevolent, hardhearted, hard, cold, unsympathetic, unforbearing, vicious, sadistic; see also sense 2; cruel 2 .

Ant. merciful*, forgiving, compassionate.

2. [Showing little evidence of pity; said of actions, policies, etc. ]

Syn. savage, brutal, cruel, tyrannical, relentless, barbarous, inhuman, callous, grim, atrocious, flagrant, terrible, abominable, outrageous, inexorable, unrelenting, fiendish, oppressive, bloodthirsty, venomous, galling, dog-eat-dog; see also cruel 1 .

Ant. kind*, helpful, civilized.

See Synonym Study at cruel .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.

cruel, pitiless, merciless, heartless, brutal, vicious, mean, cold, unfeeling, savage, hard, callous, barbarous, ferocious.

ANT.: compassionate, caring, merciful, soft

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) adjective Lacking scruples or principles: conscienceless, unconscionable, unethical, unprincipled, unscrupulous. See HONEST.