Synonyms
- affectless
- callous
- case-hardened
- cold-blooded
- compassionless
- desensitized
- hard
- hard-boiled
- hard-hearted
- heartless
- indurate
- inhuman
- inhumane
- insensate
- insensitive
- ironhearted
- obdurate
- pachydermatous
- pitiless
- remorseless
- ruthless
- slash-and-burn
- soulless
- stony
- stoney
- stonyhearted
- take-no-prisoners
- thick-skinned
- uncharitable
- unfeeling
- unmerciful
- unsparing
- unsympathetic
Examples of merciless in a Sentence
the merciless killing of innocent people
He has been merciless in his criticism of his opponent.
Recent Examples on the Web
The community that had long been home to hundreds of entertainment industry workers was engulfed by a wildfire whipped into a merciless inferno by 80-mile an hour winds.
—
Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 13 Jan. 2025
Scarcity of food and clean water have become merciless tormentors, and the numbers tell a story that words cannot fully convey.
—Daphne Ewing-Chow, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025
The veteran critic for The Telegraph is merciless with one flop criterion: financial loss, achieved (if that’s the word) by all of these films but not, for example, by Waterworld (which apparently squeaked into the black).
—Nicolas Rapold, airmail.news, 21 Dec. 2024
Season 2 doesn’t top the shocking novelty of the first season, made iconic by that giant mechanical girl in charge of a merciless game of red light, green light.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 26 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for merciless 
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Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 13 Jan. 2025
Scarcity of food and clean water have become merciless tormentors, and the numbers tell a story that words cannot fully convey.
—Daphne Ewing-Chow, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025
The veteran critic for The Telegraph is merciless with one flop criterion: financial loss, achieved (if that’s the word) by all of these films but not, for example, by Waterworld (which apparently squeaked into the black).
—Nicolas Rapold, airmail.news, 21 Dec. 2024
Season 2 doesn’t top the shocking novelty of the first season, made iconic by that giant mechanical girl in charge of a merciless game of red light, green light.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 26 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for merciless
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Dictionary Entries Near merciless
Cite this Entry
“Merciless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/merciless. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
merciless
adjective
mer·ci·less
ˈmər-si-ləs 
: having no mercy : pitiless
merciless slaughter
mercilessly
adverb
mercilessness
noun
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