ruthlessly
/ˈɹuːθ.ləs.li/adverb
ruthlessly is spelled R-U-T-H-L-E-S-S-L-Y: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, ruthlessly means “In a ruthless manner; with cruelty; without pity or compassion” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ruthlessly?
| Letters | 10: R-U-T-H-L-E-S-S-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,798th 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 ruthlessly?
Ruthlessly appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th 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 ruthlessly?
- US /ˈɹuːθ.ləs.li/
- US /ˈɹuːθ.lɪs.li/
Ruthlessly 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: En-au-ruthlessly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ruthlessly
- more ruthlessly comparative
- most ruthlessly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ruthlessly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a ruthless manner; with cruelty; without pity or compassion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ruthlessly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in a ruthless manner:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | impitoyablement, sans foi ni loi, cruellement, sadiquement, inhumainement, tenacement |
| German | ruchlos, rücksichtslos, unbarmherzig, unerbittlich |
| Spanish | despiadamente, cruelmente, sádicamente, inhumanamente |
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.