as in ruthless
not guided by or showing a concern for what is right
cutthroat business practices intended to drive competitors out of business
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in assassin
a person who kills another person
while traveling the ancient Silk Road, traders were constant prey to cutthroats and thieves
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cutthroat
Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 30 May 2024
Cruel Intentions follows the elite students of Manchester College, where two ruthless step-siblings will do anything to stay on top of the cutthroat social hierarchy, including seducing the daughter of the vice-president of the United States.
—Anne Victoria Clark, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024
Erik Kain, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
Strategy, alliances and cutthroat competition will collide as contestants battle for fortune and navigate the fine line between capitalism and chaos.
—Peter White, Deadline, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cutthroat
Adjective
Contributor The investment world can be very cutthroat, and numerous businesses are competing to receive valuable capital investments that will allow the founders to grow their companies or make their exit.
—Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 30 May 2024
Cruel Intentions follows the elite students of Manchester College, where two ruthless step-siblings will do anything to stay on top of the cutthroat social hierarchy, including seducing the daughter of the vice-president of the United States.
—Anne Victoria Clark, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024
Noun
Zoe writes fantasy fiction and Mio writes science-fiction, but neither has had success in the cutthroat world of publishing.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
Strategy, alliances and cutthroat competition will collide as contestants battle for fortune and navigate the fine line between capitalism and chaos.
—Peter White, Deadline, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cutthroat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cutthroat
Adjective
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Whoever sells the most wins a car; whoever sells the least is out of a job – a ruthless environment where each character will do anything to come out on top.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
17 Mar. 2025
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The film, inspired by the true story of a ruthless Hawaiian crime boss, promises to be a gripping portrayal of organized crime in the island paradise.—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
15 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Reeves is John Wick, but that doesn't mean that the world that is currently being built around the famed assassin doesn't have others that could act as de facto John Wick.—
Faisal Kutty,
Newsweek,
12 Mar. 2025
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In his presentation on Monday, Hochman drew a parallel between the Menendez case and the case of Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Robert Kennedy.—
Gene Maddaus,
Variety,
10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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And so Rose, immortal on the field, with a bat, was judged immoral off it by the saints who guard baseball’s gate.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
4 Mar. 2025
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The campaign materials were unequivocal: Worley believed LGBT influences in society were immoral.—
Nick Penzenstadler,
USA TODAY,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
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If Hamas does not release all the hostages, the gates of hell will open in Gaza, and Hamas' murderers and rapists will face the IDF with unprecedented force.—
James Hider,
NPR,
17 Mar. 2025
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In real life, the probability of a nurse being a murderer in disguise, though not zero, was low, and Lilian did not believe that such a sensational turn was likely to occur to her.—
Yiyun Li,
The New Yorker,
9 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Is that the median voter assumes everyone is corrupt already?—
Bluesky Social,
Bluesky Social,
11 Mar. 2025
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The American people registered their verdict on the bloated, corrupt federal bureaucracy on November 5, 2024 by voting for President Trump and his promises to sweepingly reform the federal government.—
William Lambers,
Newsweek,
9 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Detective Nicola Bridge must unpick a web of lies and rivalries to unmask the killer.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
12 Mar. 2025
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The woman and her son were not physically harmed during the incident and the man’s killer escaped.—
Anthony Solorzano,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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In this John le Carré adaptation, Brosnan plays Andy Osnard, a disgraced, unscrupulous, but unfailingly charming MI6 agent who sees a new assignment in an ultracorrupt Panama as a chance to accumulate money and power.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2025
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Michael Douglas — Wall Street (1987) Gordon Gekko is a cunning and unscrupulous corporate predator who crystallized the Reagan-era ethos into three words.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The notorious Sackler family, opioid pushers responsible for countless cases of addiction and death, can’t seem to settle their legal problems without turning to some kind of unprincipled maneuver.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Feb. 2025
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Objective voters who watched the recent documentary about Lev Parnas, once a Trump ally, should fear a redux of a Cabinet running the government for an angry, unhinged, unprincipled man.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
1 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Cutthroat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cutthroat. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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