ruthlessly
adverb
Simple meaning
Without pity or compassion.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
roothluhsleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹuθləsli
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adverb
In a ruthless manner; with cruelty; without pity or compassion.
“The government has been urged to take immediate action to deal ruthlessly with the strikers.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: In a ruthless manner; with cruelty; without pity or compassion.
Used this way, ruthlessly is a common word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It carries warmth, so it reads as personal rather than detached.
“The government has been urged to take immediate action to deal ruthlessly with the strikers.”
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Kind and considerate
- Usage feel
- Warm and expressive
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “ruthlessly with …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: ruthlessly with …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use ruthlessly
- “The government has been urged to take immediate action to deal ruthlessly with the strikers.”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.