Ruth

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɹuːθ/

Definitions

1. A state characterized by a complete absence of compassion or mercy demonstrates indifference towards the emotional distress of others
2. The quality of being devoid of empathy exhibits a callous attitude, ignoring the needs and pain of fellow beings
3. A condition where one lacks feelings of compassion reflects an uncaring approach to the suffering of others

Etymology: Ruth once meant grief as much as it meant pity, and the two senses were never fully separated. In Old English, the verb "hrēowan" meant to grieve, to regret, or to repent, and Middle English turned it into "rewen," meaning to feel pity or to rue something. Adding the suffix "-th," which forms nouns of state or quality (as in "length" or "health"), gave "reuthe" or "rewthe," a word for the condition of being moved by another's suffering. The modern sense is a narrowing and a reversal of emphasis. Where the noun once covered pity, sorrow, calamity and even cruelty, English settled on the compassion itself, and today the word mostly appears in phrases like "without ruth." The noun's surface resemblance to "rue," meaning regret, is real and explains the shared sense of sorrow, though the source treats the verb's deeper origin as uncertain.

Synonyms: compassion, pity, mercy

Antonyms: cruelty, indifference