Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In a ruthless manner; without pity; cruelly; barbarously.

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

  • adverb In a ruthless manner; with cruelty; without pity or compassion.

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

  • adverb in a ruthless manner

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From ruthless +‎ -ly.

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Examples

  • Of course, it is ruthlessly ignored (CAN something be * ruthlessly* ignored?) by the mainstream media.

    Catholic Church Conservation 2010

  • Spitzer made his name ruthlessly chasing down corruption on Wall Street, the heart of New York power.

    CNN Transcript Mar 11, 2008 2008

  • Here's a very short excerpt via IowaNiceGuy (be sure to click and read the whole thing, it's fabulous!): Most Iraqis, I am told, believe that they are "better off" becoming violently ill from drinking filthy water while dodging bullets under the elusive promise of shifting democracy and inevitable specter of bloody civil war than they were being victimized by the clean water and electricity Saddam Hussein ruthlessly used to curry favor.

    09/27/2004 2004

  • The two Japanese students were pleased when our friend added that the Chinese had stolen their vaunted culture directly and ruthlessly from the Japanese.

    Pound in Rapallo Boyle, Kay 1987

  • But Hunter had many things to attend to; he broke in ruthlessly on the doctor's amazement.

    The Window at the White Cat 1910

  • And the good-natured, but misguided woman, suiting the action to the word, seized upon poor Marjorie's artistic decorations and swept them ruthlessly from the table, planting her huge, ungainly ornament triumphantly in their place.

    Three Girls in a Flat Jean Yandell Loughborough 1892

  • (Watkins was four years ahead of Monty Python, and decades ahead of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, in ruthlessly mocking gasbagish expert commentary — only he didn’t think it was quite so hilarious.)

    He Saw It Coming 2008

  • (Watkins was four years ahead of Monty Python, and decades ahead of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, in ruthlessly mocking gasbagish expert commentary — only he didn’t think it was quite so hilarious.)

    He Saw It Coming 2008

  • The risk of a misstep was great, for the address would be heard coast to coast by a radio audience in the millions, its every word ruthlessly parsed by politicians of both parties for its possible impact on the coming campaign.

    Colossus Michael Hiltzik 2010

  • The risk of a misstep was great, for the address would be heard coast to coast by a radio audience in the millions, its every word ruthlessly parsed by politicians of both parties for its possible impact on the coming campaign.

    Colossus Michael Hiltzik 2010

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