n. 1 murderer, pirate, killer, thug, hatchet man, gunman, assassin, Slang US gunsel, torpedo, hit man Those streets are frequented by thieves and cutthroats
adj. 2 merciless, ruthless, unmerciful, unprincipled, relentless, pitiless, brutal, cold-blooded, cold-hearted Her cutthroat tactics call for dismissing all executives 3 murderous, homicidal, lethal, deadly, barbaric, fierce, cruel, barbarous, savage, inhuman, brutal, brutish, violent, ferocious, bloodthirsty, sanguinary, bloody, feral, vicious, truculent He was once a member of a gang of cutthroat hoodlums