pitiless
/ˈpɪtɪləs/adjective
pitiless is spelled P-I-T-I-L-E-S-S: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, pitiless means “Having, or showing, no pity; merciless, ruthless” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pitiless?
| Letters | 8: P-I-T-I-L-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 65,913th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pitiless?
Pitiless appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pitiless?
- /ˈpɪtɪləs/
Pitiless has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pitiless.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pitiless
- more pitiless comparative
- most pitiless superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pitiless mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having, or showing, no pity; merciless, ruthless.
- 2
Having no kind feelings; unkind.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pitiless in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense having no pity:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | impitoyable |
| German | erbarmungslos, unbarmherzig |
| Portuguese | impiedoso, desapiedado |
| Spanish | despiadado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pitiless come from?
From Middle English piteeles, pyteles; equivalent to pity + -less.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).