Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having no mercy; cruel.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Destitute of mercy; unfeeling; pitiless; hard-hearted; cruel; relentless; unsparing: as, a merciless tyrant.
  • Without hope of mercy.
  • Synonyms Unmerciful, severe, inexorable, unrelenting, barbarous, savage.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Destitute of mercy; cruel; unsparing; -- said of animate beings, and also, figuratively, of things

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective showing no mercy; cruel and pitiless

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective having or showing no mercy

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

mercy +‎ -less

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Examples

  • But they returned in the late morning, shaken by what they described as a merciless surprise attack by government forces with rocket- propelled grenades and heavy artillery.

    Gaddafi intensifies campaign 2011

  • But they returned in the late morning, shaken by what they described as a merciless surprise attack by government forces with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy artillery.

    Gaddafi intensifies campaign 2011

  • But they returned in the late morning, shaken by what they described as a merciless surprise attack by government forces with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy artillery.

    Gaddafi intensifies campaign 2011

  • Opening the prosecution case today, Gerard Elias QC said the two double killings ammounted to what he called merciless executions for pitifully small gain.

    WalesOnline - Home 2011

  • They are described as merciless with people who tell them less than the truth.

    The Bass Handbook of Leadership Bernard M. Bass 2008

  • They are described as merciless with people who tell them less than the truth.

    The Bass Handbook of Leadership Bernard M. Bass 2008

  • It's addressed to his supporters both inside and outside Iraq and it takes a swipe at Americans, which Saddam refers to as merciless tyrants.

    CNN Transcript Dec 28, 2006 2006

  • And it takes a swipe at Americans, which Saddam refers to as merciless tyrants.

    CNN Transcript Dec 27, 2006 2006

  • It's addressed to his supporters both inside and outside Iraq and it takes a swipe at Americans, which Saddam refers to as merciless tyrants.

    CNN Transcript Dec 28, 2006 2006

  • He is filled with what might be called a merciless pity, a sympathy almost malicious.

    Tolstoy and "The Kreutzer Sonata" 1899

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