Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pitiless

/ˈpɪtɪləs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.31 in modern English

Syllables: piti-less
IPA: /ˈpɪtɪləs/

10

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Having, or showing, no pity; merciless, ruthless.

adj

Having no kind feelings; unkind.

Example Sentences

"O God! can I not save / One from the pitiless wave? / Is all that we see or seem / But a dream within a dream?"
"Her clothes were torn to mere shreds and tatters, and through the pitiful rags her once white and tender skin showed raw and bleeding from contact with the thousand pitiless thorns and brambles through which she had been dragged."

Etymology

From Middle English piteeles, pyteles; equivalent to pity + -less.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: piteeles
Suffix: pity

Inflected Forms

more pitiless (comparative) most pitiless (superlative)

Derived Forms

pitilessly pitilessness

Synonyms

compassionless hardhearted unsympathetic barbarous bowelless brutal cruel flagitious demonic despiteful diabolic diabolical

Questions

How do you pronounce pitiless?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɪtɪləs/.
What does pitiless mean?: Having, or showing, no pity; merciless, ruthless.
Where does pitiless come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce pitiless

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pitiless”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpɪtɪləs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “pitiless”.
Repeat and practice — Say “pitiless” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.