pitiless

adjective

piti·​less ˈpi-ti-ləs 

: devoid of pity : harsh, cruel

pitilessly adverb

pitilessness noun

Synonyms

• affectless
• callous
• case-hardened
• cold-blooded
• compassionless
• desensitized
• hard
• hard-boiled
• hard-hearted
• heartless
• indurate
• inhuman
• inhumane
• insensate
• insensitive
• ironhearted
• merciless
• obdurate
• pachydermatous
• remorseless
• ruthless
• slash-and-burn
• soulless
• stony
• stoney
• stonyhearted
• take-no-prisoners
• thick-skinned
• uncharitable
• unfeeling
• unmerciful
• unsparing
• unsympathetic

Examples of pitiless in a Sentence

The soldiers were pitiless toward their enemy.

gave the beggar in the street a pitiless look and kept on walking

Recent Examples on the Web

These were the years in which capitalism shed its pitiless light on the absurd British soul, with its deep striations of caste and station, its postcolonial taint, most of all its perverted emotional core, full of love and loathing for its own extremes of domination and servitude. —Rachel Cusk, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025

Achyut Kumar plays Prabhu, a pitiless small-town businessman running for local office with the help of his right-hand enforcer, Malabari (Dileesh Pothan). —Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 17 Feb. 2025

Liu doesn’t invite a shred of sympathy for this pitiless mom. —Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2025

The story mirrors the original, following a fresh batch of desperate have-nots competing in elementary school games with a sizable fortune for the winners and pitiless execution for the losers. —Tony Maglio, IndieWire, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

pitiless

adjective

piti·​less ˈpit-i-ləs 

ˈpit-ᵊl-əs

: having no pity : harsh, cruel

pitilessly adverb