as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
a theater critic with a take-no-prisoners approach to reviewing Broadway's latest offerings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of take-no-prisoners
Her take-no-prisoners portrayal of Lois quickly became a defining career highlight.
—
Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
That’s how Trip Cullman’s taut, take-no-prisoners production plays it — the pulse is allegro, the casual tone spiked with gasp-inducing wickedness.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2026
But some specialists in legal ethics expressed doubts at the time that the additional pledge would affect courtroom behavior — the late Stanford Law professor Deborah Rhode said some lawyers simply conclude that a take-no-prisoners attitude would help their client.
—Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 Mar. 2026
Continuing in his take-no-prisoners approach, Lane moved on from Chalamet to relate an anecdote, first told by his friend Jesse Tyler Ferguson on a podcast, in which Lane met Ferguson’s young son, who was duly dazzled by The Lion King star.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 12 Mar. 2026
Ed O’Bradovich, the young, take-no-prisoners defensive end, was a product of Proviso East High School.
—Charles Billington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
Ricky Gervais has hosted the Golden Globes five times, making Hollywood sweat with his take-no-prisoners approach to jokes mocking showbiz.
—William Earl, Variety, 30 Dec. 2025
Directed by genre-hopping Ben Wheatley and written by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad from a story hatched by Kolstad and Odenkirk, the subversive Western is a take-no-prisoners gore fest that peppers all the visceral carnage with an equal sprinkling of dry wit.
—Michael Rechtshaffen, HollywoodReporter, 15 Sep. 2025
Nothing about Francis Lawrence’s take-no-prisoners adaptation of Richard Bachman’s (aka Stephen King) staggering novel offers one shard of hope for any of us to wrap our bloodied fingers around.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025
Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
That’s how Trip Cullman’s taut, take-no-prisoners production plays it — the pulse is allegro, the casual tone spiked with gasp-inducing wickedness.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2026
But some specialists in legal ethics expressed doubts at the time that the additional pledge would affect courtroom behavior — the late Stanford Law professor Deborah Rhode said some lawyers simply conclude that a take-no-prisoners attitude would help their client.
—Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 Mar. 2026
Continuing in his take-no-prisoners approach, Lane moved on from Chalamet to relate an anecdote, first told by his friend Jesse Tyler Ferguson on a podcast, in which Lane met Ferguson’s young son, who was duly dazzled by The Lion King star.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 12 Mar. 2026
Ed O’Bradovich, the young, take-no-prisoners defensive end, was a product of Proviso East High School.
—Charles Billington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
Ricky Gervais has hosted the Golden Globes five times, making Hollywood sweat with his take-no-prisoners approach to jokes mocking showbiz.
—William Earl, Variety, 30 Dec. 2025
Directed by genre-hopping Ben Wheatley and written by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad from a story hatched by Kolstad and Odenkirk, the subversive Western is a take-no-prisoners gore fest that peppers all the visceral carnage with an equal sprinkling of dry wit.
—Michael Rechtshaffen, HollywoodReporter, 15 Sep. 2025
Nothing about Francis Lawrence’s take-no-prisoners adaptation of Richard Bachman’s (aka Stephen King) staggering novel offers one shard of hope for any of us to wrap our bloodied fingers around.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for take-no-prisoners
Adjective
-
Sure, he’s driven by vengeance and ruthless in his pursuit, but — without spoiling anything — his motivation is clouded at best, misplaced at worst.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Michael’s brother Sonny (James Caan) becomes the de facto crime boss as the Corleones prosecute a turf war against their rivals, and Michael eventually emerges as the new, and much more ruthless boss, much to the horror of his wife, Kay (Diane Keaton).—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Fleeing into the desert with her father, she is hunted by a merciless army and forced to trust a legendary bandit (Mackie) with secrets of his own.—
Mark Meszoros,
Twin Cities,
25 Apr. 2026
-
This commentary was not from a wonkish TikToker nor a network pundit but from TMZ, the merciless purveyor of celebrity dirt, which published the images of Graham after a citizen vacationer noticed the senator flitting through the theme park and sent pictures.—
Paula Mejía,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Take-no-prisoners.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/take-no-prisoners. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
