ruthful

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English

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Etymology

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From Middle English reuþful, reuthful, reowthful, equivalent to ruth +‎ -ful.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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ruthful (comparative more ruthful, superlative most ruthful)

  1. Full of sorrow; sorrowful; woeful; rueful.
  2. Causing pity; piteous.
  3. Full of ruth or pity; merciful; compassionate.

Usage notes

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  • (causing pity): Unlike the other senses, which describe the person acting or the motivation behind an act, this sense is used to describe the effect of an action or circumstance. Thus, it is easily confused with the complementary term ruthless: a ruthless person (one lacking pity) may perform acts or bring about circumstances which are ruthful (cause or induce feelings of pity).

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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  • (antonym(s) of full of ruth): ruthless

Derived terms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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