ruthless
/ˈɹuːθləs/
"ruthless" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ruthless” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,132. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #12,132
- frequency rank, English
- 3,094
- “R” headwords
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Without pity or compassion; cruel, pitiless.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ruthless · ruthless · English
ruthless · rank #12,132 · 11 variants · 1 confusable
- FREQ-MID #12,132
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
- VAR-MID 11 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,094
- PHOTO-FINISH resonance
Nearest frequency peer: resonance (-1 rank slots)
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.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “ruthless”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- refresh
refresh
87,871 corpus weight
- resonance
resonance
87,870 corpus weight
- ruthless
ruthless
87,869 corpus weight
- salvage
salvage
87,868 corpus weight
- samurai
samurai
87,867 corpus weight
- Sasha
Sasha
87,866 corpus weight
What this shows “ruthless” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ruthless |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈɹuːθləs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #12,132 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ruthless”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 11 spelling variants around ruthless (IPA /ˈɹuːθləs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #12,132 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for ruthless, with forms such as "rruthless", "rtuhless", and "ruhtless". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "ruthlessly", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English reuþeles; equivalent to ruth + -less. The correct English form is ruthless, spelled R-U-T-H-L-E-S-S.
Definition
- 1Without pity or compassion; cruel, pitiless.
- 2Uncompromising; unrelenting.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ruthless appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
At length their rage the hoſtile Pow’rs reſtrain, / All but the ruthleſs Monarch of the Main.
Particular note, in this period, should be made of the actions of Joseph Denman, commander of the Northern Division of the Squadron, who went on an absolutely ruthless and systematic campaign along the African coast, burning so-called "slaving factories" to the ground and openly daring anyone who objected to try and stop him.
Etymology
From Middle English reuþeles; equivalent to ruth + -less.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- rruthless
- rtuhless
- ruhtless
- ruthelss
- ruthhless
- ruthles
- ruthlless
- ruthlses
- rutlhess
- rutthless
- urthless
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ruthless - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ruthless", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).