merciless

[ mur-si-lis ]

adjective

1. without mercy; having or showing no mercy; pitiless; cruel:

   a merciless critic.

   Synonyms: unsympathetic, inexorable, fell, unrelenting, relentless, hard

   Antonyms: compassionate

merciless

/ ˈmɜːsɪlɪs /

adjective

1. without mercy; pitiless, cruel, or heartless

Derived Forms

• ˈmercilessness, noun
• ˈmercilessly, adverb

Other Words From

• mer·ci·less·ly adverb
• mer·ci·less·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of merciless¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English mercyles; mercy, -less

Example Sentences

His voice was a merciless whip on my back, seeking to whip me like a vile sinner.

From Washington Blade

The officers are merciless and wipe out any trace of cooked food.

From Washington Blade

Each remembrance was a merciless sting that I inflicted on myself, especially when I learned that my father had traveled to Cuba for the occasion after several years away during this time of the year.

From Washington Blade

The second sentence seemingly negates the second point to some degree, but more than anything, I think it’s an indictment of how merciless this industry can be.

From TechCrunch

They saw a war with no end, a merciless and destructive juggernaut that was upending communities, families and individual lives — to little purpose.

From Washington Post

If mercy is not preached by a national figure we take seriously, our battles over policy power will grow ever more merciless.

From The Daily Beast

Dovlatov was a merciless opponent of oppression, whose chief weapon was one dictatorships are rarely good at facing: humor.

From The Daily Beast

The Soviet regime was merciless to its opponents, and millions suffered and perished in its labor camp.

From The Daily Beast

The biggest con: Washington is a merciless meat-grinder of a place that ends as many political careers as it launches.

From The Daily Beast

“Life was merciless, then briefly miraculous,” Phillips writes toward the end of Quiet Dell.

From The Daily Beast

Long before reason found the answer, instinct—swift, merciless interpreter—told him plainly.

From Project Gutenberg

It was merciless and terrible—so slightly, faintly indicated, yet so overwhelmingly convincing.

From Project Gutenberg

"And if it is not brought home to you—the fact remains the same," said Mr. Carr, in his merciless truth.

From Project Gutenberg

The merciless commissioners had ordered her to be incarcerated in a cell which no beam of light could penetrate.

From Project Gutenberg

Her husband is a fugitive, pursued by human blood-hounds more merciless than the brute.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• barbarous
• callous
• cruel
• fierce
• grim
• harsh
• implacable
• inexorable
• inhumane
• relentless
• ruthless
• severe
• unforgiving
• unrelenting
• unsparing
• unyielding