ruthless
adjective/ˈruːθləs/
/ˈruːθləs/
(often disapproving)- (of people or their behaviour) hard and cruel; determined to get what you want and not caring if you hurt other people
- a ruthless dictator
- The way she behaved towards him was utterly ruthless.
- He has a ruthless determination to succeed.
- We’ll have to be ruthless if we want to make this company more efficient.
Extra Examples- She was pretty ruthless about sacking people.
- He's a violent, ruthless man who will stop at nothing.
- Like all great survivors, she has a ruthless streak.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryRuthless is used with these nouns:- character
- determination
- efficiency
- …
Word OriginMiddle English: from ruth ‘feeling of pity, distress or grief’ + -less.Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
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ruthless