ruthless
adj.adj. having no pity or sympathy for others when you want to achieve a goal. You use this to describe someone who is very tough and does not care if they hurt people to get what they want.
adj. characterised by a total lack of pity, compassion, or remorse in the pursuit of an objective. Often describes individuals in competitive environments like business or politics.
The ruthless businessman fired everyone to save money.
To win the championship, the team played with a ruthless efficiency that left their opponents no room for error.
Historians often debate whether his ruthless suppression of dissent was a calculated necessity for stability or merely the byproduct of a cruel temperament.
From Middle English reuþeles; equivalent to ruth + -less.
Commonly modifies nouns related to competition, such as 'ambition', 'efficiency', or 'competitor'.