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If someone can be ruthless, can one also be ruthful?
Ruthless can be defined as "without ruth" or "having no ruth." So what, then, is ruth? The noun ruth, which is now considerably less common than ruthless, means "compassion for the misery of another," "sorrow for one's own faults," or "remorse." And, just as it is possible for one to be without ruth, it is also possible to be full of ruth. The antonym of ruthless is ruthful, meaning "full of ruth" or "tender." Ruthful can also mean "full of sorrow" or "causing sorrow." Ruth can be traced back to the Middle English noun ruthe, itself from ruen, meaning "to rue" or "to feel regret, remorse, or sorrow."
Synonyms of ruthless
Examples of ruthless in a Sentence
Camille Behnke, NBC news, 23 Feb. 2026
The man behind one of Mexico's most ruthless cartels.
—Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 23 Feb. 2026
Powerfully addictive crack cocaine swept though impoverished urban neighborhoods, empowering a new, more ruthless, better armed class of criminals, bringing predictable devastation.
—Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 22 Feb. 2026
But on Team Reggie, there’s no ruthless Jack Donaghy, no narcissistic Jenna Maroney.
—Judy Berman, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Ruthless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruthless. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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