The slurs circulating are quite savage (8)

I believe the answer is:

ruthless

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'quite savage' is the definition.
'ruthless' can be an answer for 'savage' (thesaurus). I am not sure about the 'quite' bit.

'the slurs circulating' is the wordplay.
'circulating' indicates anagramming the letters.
'the'+'slurs'='theslurs'
'theslurs' with letters rearranged gives 'RUTHLESS'.

'are' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ruthless that I've seen before include "Without pity or compassion" , "devoid of compassion" , "Showing no mercy" , "Without mercy or pity" , "Callous" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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