relentlessly en · ADV
Pronunciation
- audio North Carolina
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ɹɪˈlentləsli/ (Australia)
- /ɹi-/ (Canada, General-American)
- /ɹɪˈlɛntləsli/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ɹəˈlentləsli/ (New-Zealand)
- /ɹəˈlɛn(t)ləsli/ (Canada, General-American)
Etymology
Etymology tree English relentless Middle English -ly English -ly English relentlessly From relentless + -ly (suffix forming abverbs from adjectives and nouns). Relentless is derived from relent (“(noun) act of relenting or giving way, yielding; (verb) to become less cruel or harsh; to become less intense”) + -less (suffix meaning ‘lacking, without’); and relent from Middle English relenten (“to melt; to soften; to dissolve in water; of weather: to be cool and moist”), from Anglo-Norman relenter, relentir (“to melt; to shrivel; to give up; to slacken”), and also influenced by Middle French ralenter, ralentir (“to abate; to slow down”) (modern French ralentir), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’ having intensifying effect) + alenter, alentir (“to slow down”) (from Old French alentir, from a- (prefix denoting entering a state or progressing towards a goal) + lent (“slow”) (from Latin lentus (“slow, sluggish”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lentos (“pliant; soft; smooth”)) + -ir (suffix forming infinitives of verbs)).
Meanings
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In a relentless manner. ▸ In a manner unrelenting or unyielding in severity; unrelentingly.
Near-synonyms: harshly, pitilessly, ruthlessly
For sleep, he knew, kept most relentlessly / Its precious charge, and silent death exposed, / Faithless perhaps as sleep, a shadowy lure, / With doubtful smile mocking its own strange charms.
1815 September 10 – December 14, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Alastor; or, The Spirit of Solitude”, in Alastor; or, The Spirit of Solitude: And Other Poems, London: […] Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, […]; and Carpenter and Son, […] [b]y S[amuel] Hamilton, […], published 1816, →OCLC, page 21:He said gardaí had responded professionally to "thuggish violence" in the area and those arrested would be "charged, named and dealt with relentlessly" by the criminal justice system.
2025 October 22, PA Media, quoting Jim O’Callaghan, “Second night of unrest in Dublin as protesters target asylum hotel”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 06 Dec 2025:
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In a relentless manner. ▸ In a steady and persistent manner; unceasingly.
My friend is one of thoſe people, vvho having formerly cut a very gay figure in the vvorld, is ſtill ambitious of ſpreading the May-bloom of tvventy-five upon the vvinter of threeſcore; and deſirous of diſplaying in the fulneſs of his ſpirits, that ſprightlineſs and vivacity vvhich time has relentleſsly taken from his perſon: […]
1763? April 2, [Hugh Kelly], “Saturday, April 2 [1763?]”, in The Babler. Containing a Careful Selection from those Entertaining and Interesting Essays, […], volume I, number LXI, London: […] J[ohn] Newbery, […]; L. Hawes, W. Clarke, and R. Collins, […]; and J[ames] Harrison, […], published 1767, →OCLC, page 265:The vision must be shared. The leadership team must believe in it and pursue it relentlessly, along with the leader herself.
2022, Gary A. Garfield, “Vision: Lesson #2”, in Driving Results: Six Lessons Learned from Transforming an Iconic Company, Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, part II (The Six Lessons for Change), page 105:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more relentlessly | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most relentlessly | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Antonyms
unrelentlessly · unrelentlessly
Deriveds
Relateds
Synonyms
eternally · pitilessly · consecutively · unrelievedly · ongoingly · incessantly · unintermittedly · unrelentingly · unbrokenly · harshly · infinitely · continually · steadily · unremittingly · everlastingly · perpetually · extendedly · constantly · ceaselessly · relentlessly · unendingly · successively · unceasingly · continently · continuously · nonstop · persistently · ever · ruthlessly · uninterruptedly · unstoppingly · unremittingly · never-endingly · endlessly
Translations (38)
la irremissibiliter (in a relentless manner) · sh не̏милосрдно (in a relentless manner) · ru неукло́нно (in a relentless manner) · mk неподатливо (in a relentless manner) · pl nieustannie (in a relentless manner) · es implacablemente (in a relentless manner) · fi säälimättömästi (in a relentless manner) · pl bezustannie (in a relentless manner) · mk непопустливо (in a relentless manner) · es inexorablemente (in a relentless manner) · ka შეუბრალებლად (in a relentless manner) · es inclementemente (in a relentless manner) · ru неотсту́пно (in a relentless manner) · ja ビシビシ (in a relentless manner) · it senza esclusione di colpi (in a relentless manner) · fi leppymättömästi (in a relentless manner) · vi rầm rầm (in a relentless manner) · pl zacięcie (in a relentless manner) · la irremissē (in a relentless manner) · fr inexorablement (in a relentless manner) · ru неуста́нно (in a relentless manner) · fr sans relâche (in a relentless manner) · yue 硬係 /硬系 (in a relentless manner) · fi sinnikkäästi (in a relentless manner) · uk невпи́нно (in a relentless manner) · sv obönhörligen (in a relentless manner) · rsk нємилосердно (in a relentless manner) · fi heltymättömästi (in a relentless manner) · sv obönhörligt (in a relentless manner) · ru не поклада́я ру́к (in a relentless manner) · es despiadadamente (in a relentless manner) · ja びしびし (in a relentless manner) · de unbarmherzig (in a relentless manner) · fi hellittämättömästi (in a relentless manner) · de unerbittlich (in a relentless manner) · pl nieustająco (in a relentless manner) · sh nȅmilosrdno (in a relentless manner) · fi periksiantamattomasti (in a relentless manner)