ruth
- 01 C2 Proficiency
a feeling of pity or mercy for someone who is suffering.
compassion or pity for the distress or misery of another person.
Simple“The knight showed great ruth toward his defeated enemy and spared his life.”
In context“The poem describes a king who ruled without ruth, showing no mercy to those who begged for his protection.”
UsageUsually uncountable in this sense.
Teacher's tipModern students will mostly recognize this root in the adjective 'ruthless' (without pity).
SynonymsAntonymscrueltyruthlessness - 02 C2 Proficiency
a feeling of being sorry for something you have done wrong.
sorrow or remorse for one's own faults or past actions.
Simple“He was filled with ruth after realizing how much pain his words had caused.”
In context“The protagonist spent his final years in a state of deep ruth, lamenting the choices that had led to his isolation.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is extremely rare in modern English outside of academic study of Middle English texts.
Synonyms
From Ruth the Moabite, Hebrew רות, of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "companion". Also associated with the English noun ruth (“compassion”) by Puritans.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.