ruthlessly

English

WOTD – 19 March 2010

Etymology

From ruthless +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈɹuːθ.ləs.li/, /ˈɹuːθ.lɪs.li/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Adverb

ruthlessly (comparative more ruthlessly, superlative most ruthlessly)

1. In a ruthless manner; with cruelty; without pity or compassion.
   • 1939 September, D. S. Barrie, “The Railways of South Wales”, in Railway Magazine, page 165:

     Standing on the mountain above Caerphilly, one may reflect upon the gap where once stood Llanbradach Viaduct, and look near at hand upon the restored ruins of Caerphilly Castle; man labours to rebuild the mediaeval whilst he ruthlessly scraps the modern.

   • 2021 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Hungary 0-4 England”, in BBC‎^[1]:

     Southgate's side kept their nerve and discipline in the unsettling, intimidating surroundings of Budapest, with the behaviour of Hungary's fans leaving much to be desired, to turn up the heat and punish their opponents ruthlessly once they had gone ahead.

Synonyms

• (in a ruthless manner): cruelly, pitilessly

Translations

in a ruthless manner

• Armenian: անխնա (hy) (anxna)
• Catalan: despietadament (ca), sense pietat
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 殘忍地／残忍地 (zh) (cánrěn de), 無情地／无情地 (zh) (wúqíng de), 殘酷地／残酷地 (zh) (cánkù de)

• Estonian: halastamatult, armutult, julmalt
• Finnish: armottomasti (fi)
• French: impitoyablement (fr), sans foi ni loi (fr), cruellement (fr), sadiquement (fr), inhumainement (fr), tenacement (fr)
• Galician: desapiadadamente (gl)
• German: ruchlos (de), rücksichtslos (de), unbarmherzig (de), unerbittlich (de)
• Italian: crudelmente (it), sadicamente, senza pietà, spietatamente (it)
• Polish: bezwzględnie (pl), niemiłosiernie (pl), bezpardonowo
• Russian: беспоща́дно (ru) (bespoščádno), безжа́лостно (ru) (bezžálostno), немилосе́рдно (ru) (nemilosérdno), неумоли́мо (ru) (neumolímo), беспардо́нно (ru) (bespardónno),
• Spanish: despiadamente, cruelmente (es), sádicamente, inhumanamente

Anagrams

• hurtlessly