despiadado
/despjaˈdado/ · B2 · adj
merciless, ruthless, cutthroat, pitiless, cold-blooded, remorseless, savage
🗡️🐍 des- (without) + piadado (pity, from piedad) = without pity
Despiadado breaks into des- (without) + piadoso (merciful, from piedad, pity). Someone despiadado has had pity removed: no mercy, no remorse. Compare English pious and piety, which share the same Latin root, pietas.