CUTTHROAT Synonyms: 59 Similar and Opposite Words

cutthroat 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of cutthroat

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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cutthroat

2 of 2

noun

ˈkət-ˌthrōt

as in assassin

a person who kills another person while traveling the ancient Silk Road, traders were constant prey to cutthroats and thieves

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of cutthroat

Adjective

Mark Zuckerberg certainly wants no part of one, and cutthroat competition seems hard-coded into tech executives, who are rich enough not to need to win but wake up every morning trying to destroy each other anyway. — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 17 Sep. 2026 Week-one eliminations seem wholly unfair, but Dancing With the Stars is nothing if not cutthroat as hell. — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 16 Sep. 2026

Noun

Coming off a cutthroat season that drew the most viewers back to the program in a decade, the competition coming this fall is already gearing up to be one for the books. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 18 June 2026 Knowing the history of the cutthroat beer wars of the past is required to understand King Snedley’s unexpected appearance. — Bill Swank, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for cutthroat

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cutthroat

Adjective

Sure, that sounds ridiculous for a season about rape, infidelity, mass murder, suicide, and society’s ruthless commodification of those very things.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 6 Oct. 2026
In part, Iran’s political system and ruthless crackdown on protest has given it some insulation from the economic destruction imposed by the blockade and sanctions.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of ruthless

Noun

But instead the sisters wind up confronting assassins, demons with human familiars, and revelations about their late mother’s place within Le Clan des Sorcières.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
Separately in the episode, River (Jack Lowden) and Sid (Olivia Cooke) are on the run from a pair of assassins, while the rest of the team circles the wagons en route to a safe house.

— Lisa de los Reyes, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of assassin

Noun

Related Stories To uncover the truth, Emma has no choice but to return to the Breton island of Kerlann, where tragedy struck and where everyone rejects her — including her son, who sees her as his father’s murderer.

— Ed Meza, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
Theron won the Best Actress Oscar for her turn as the notorious murderer.

— Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of murderer

Adjective

The national Democratic effort to defeat Collins kept going; now the party is spending millions on an ad hitting her for a ProPublica story about her links to a corrupt defense contractor.

— Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026
For many voters, this view of Lula as corrupt is wrapped up with criticism of his economic policies and of the strong welfare state that the former union leader has come to embody.

— Constance Malleret, Christian Science Monitor, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of corrupt

Noun

In the days following the crime, her four children distributed hundreds of fliers throughout the area, asking for the public’s help in identifying their mother’s killer.

— Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Oct. 2026
By any objective measure, the Pan America is a capable, comfortable, raucous-sounding, brute-faced, mile-killer that attracts only the very finest heathens.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Oct. 2026