ruthful
/ˈɹuːθ.fʊl/
"ruthful" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ruthful” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Full of sorrow; sorrowful; woeful; rueful.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ruthful · ruthful · English
ruthful · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "R" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ruthful |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈɹuːθ.fʊl/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “ruthful” in English
Rare enough to double-check
ruthful is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈɹuːθ.fʊl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ruthful, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English reuþful, reuthful, reowthful, equivalent to ruth + -ful. The correct English form is ruthful, spelled R-U-T-H-F-U-L.
Definition
- 1Full of sorrow; sorrowful; woeful; rueful.
- 2Causing pity; piteous.
- 3Full of ruth or pity; merciful; compassionate.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ruthful appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
An if it please thee! why, assure thee, Lucius, / 'Twill vex thy soul to hear what I shall speak; / For I must talk of murders, rapes, and massacres, / Acts of black night, abominable deeds, / Complots of mischief, treason, villainies, / Ruthful to hear, yet piteously perform'd:
When last this ruthful month was come, / And in Linlithgow’s holy dome / The King, as wont, was praying; [...]
Etymology
From Middle English reuþful, reuthful, reowthful, equivalent to ruth + -ful.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.