Standard Lemma guide

relentlessly

adv · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈlɛntləsli/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Canada, General-American: /ɹəˈlɛn(t)ləsli/
  • Canada, General-American: /ɹi-/
  • North Carolina Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /ɹɪˈlentləsli/
  • New-Zealand: /ɹəˈlentləsli/
  • CMU ARPABET: R IH0 L EH1 N T L AH0 S L IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adv

Meaning 1

In a relentless manner.

In a manner unrelenting or unyielding in severity; unrelentingly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: harshly, pitilessly, ruthlessly

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: harshly, pitilessly, ruthlessly

Antonyms: unrelentlessly

2

adv

Meaning 2

In a relentless manner.

In a steady and persistent manner; unceasingly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unremittingly, ceaselessly, consecutively, constantly, continently, continually, continuously, endlessly, eternally, ever, everlastingly, extendedly, incessantly, infinitely, never-endingly, nonstop, ongoingly, perpetually, persistently, relentlessly, steadily, successively, unbrokenly, unceasingly, unendingly, unintermittedly, uninterruptedly, unrelentingly, unrelievedly, unstoppingly

Antonyms: unrelentlessly

3

adverb

Meaning 3

in a relentless manner

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he worked relentlessly

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unrelentingly

Antonyms: none provided

History

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)).

Across languages

Translations

36 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Cantonese: 硬係 /硬系 (ngaang6 hai6) — in a relentless manner
  • Finnish: hellittämättömästi — in a relentless manner
  • Finnish: heltymättömästi — in a relentless manner
  • Finnish: leppymättömästi — in a relentless manner
  • Finnish: periksiantamattomasti — in a relentless manner
  • Finnish: säälimättömästi — in a relentless manner
  • Finnish: sinnikkäästi — in a relentless manner
  • French: inexorablement — in a relentless manner
  • French: sans relâche — in a relentless manner
  • Georgian: შეუბრალებლად (šeubraleblad) — in a relentless manner
  • German: unbarmherzig — in a relentless manner
  • German: unerbittlich — in a relentless manner
  • Italian: senza esclusione di colpi — in a relentless manner
  • Japanese: びしびし — in a relentless manner
  • Japanese: ビシビシ (bishibishi) — in a relentless manner
  • Latin: irremissē — in a relentless manner
  • Latin: irremissibiliter — in a relentless manner
  • Macedonian: неподатливо (nepodatlivo) — in a relentless manner
  • Macedonian: непопустливо (nepopustlivo) — in a relentless manner
  • Pannonian Rusyn: нємилосердно (njemiloserdno) — in a relentless manner
  • Polish: bezustannie — in a relentless manner
  • Polish: zacięcie — in a relentless manner
  • Russian: неотсту́пно (neotstúpno) — in a relentless manner
  • Russian: не поклада́я ру́к (ne pokladája rúk) — in a relentless manner
  • Russian: неукло́нно (neuklónno) — in a relentless manner
  • Russian: неуста́нно (neustánno) — in a relentless manner
  • Serbo-Croatian: не̏милосрдно — in a relentless manner
  • Serbo-Croatian: nȅmilosrdno — in a relentless manner
  • Spanish: despiadadamente — in a relentless manner
  • Spanish: inexorablemente — in a relentless manner
  • Spanish: implacablemente — in a relentless manner
  • Spanish: inclementemente — in a relentless manner
  • Swedish: obönhörligen — in a relentless manner
  • Swedish: obönhörligt — in a relentless manner
  • Ukrainian: невпи́нно (nevpýnno) — in a relentless manner
  • Vietnamese: rầm rầm — in a relentless manner