mercifully
Britishadverb
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in a way that shows mercy; compassionately
mercifully put down
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(sentence modifier) fortunately; one is relieved to say that
mercifully, all went well
Explanation
When you do something mercifully, you do it in a kind, sympathetic, or humane manner. If you're absolutely starving after school, your parents might mercifully bring you a snack to eat on the way to soccer practice. Mercy is the quality of being forgiving or compassionate, and when you act mercifully, you behave in a forgiving or compassionate way. This word is also frequently used to mean "fortunately" or "luckily" — like when a bad movie is mercifully short or a hot day turns into a mercifully cool evening. Mercy and its related forms derive from the Latin word merces, meaning "reward" or "pity."
Vocabulary lists containing mercifully
The Book of Three
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The Jumbies
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Popcorn
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They mercifully ran out the clock with a commanding 28-7 lead going into the fourth and improved to a tidy 5-0 in the Big Ten.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026
The Patriots mercifully took Mr. Brady in the sixth round with the 199th overall pick.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
In recent weeks though the ocean around Okinawa has been mercifully cooled by typhoons scooping up deep-sea water as they tear across the Pacific.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Graham Platner has mercifully concluded his time was up on Wednesday evening.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
All week, Henry had been mercifully preoccupied with drilling a well out in Smith County, which kept him away for long hours.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
