mercy

[ mur-see ]
See synonyms for mercy on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural mer·cies for 4, 5.
  1. compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence: Have mercy on the poor sinner.

  2. the disposition to be compassionate or forbearing: an adversary wholly without mercy.

  1. the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment, especially to send to prison rather than invoke the death penalty.

  2. an act of kindness, compassion, or favor: She has performed countless small mercies for her friends and neighbors.

  3. something that gives evidence of divine favor; blessing: It was just a mercy we had our seat belts on when it happened.

Idioms about mercy

  1. at the mercy of, entirely in the power of; subject to: They were at the mercy of their captors.: Also at one's mercy.

Origin of mercy

1
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English merci, from Old French, earlier mercit, from Latin mercēd-, stem of mercēs “wages” (Late Latin, Medieval Latin: “heavenly reward”), derivative of merc-, stem of merx “commodity, goods, merchandise”

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Opposites for mercy

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Other definitions for Mercy (2 of 2)

Mercy
[ mur-see ]

noun
  1. a female given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mercy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mercy

mercy

/ (ˈmɜːsɪ) /


nounplural -cies
  1. compassionate treatment of or attitude towards an offender, adversary, etc, who is in one's power or care; clemency; pity

  2. the power to show mercy: to throw oneself on someone's mercy

  1. a relieving or welcome occurrence or state of affairs: his death was a mercy after weeks of pain

  2. at the mercy of in the power of

Origin of mercy

1
C12: from Old French, from Latin mercēs wages, recompense, price, from merx goods

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with mercy

mercy

see at the mercy of.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.