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• mercy
  mercy

  noun

  compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence.
• Mercy
  Mercy

  noun

  a female given name.

mercy

¹ American  

[mur-see] / ˈmɜr si /

noun

• mercies
  plural

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.

   Synonyms:

   tenderness, lenity, leniency, clemency, indulgence, forgiveness, mildness

   Antonyms:

   cruelty

2. the disposition to be compassionate or forbearing.

   an adversary wholly without mercy.

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

4. an act of kindness, compassion, or favor.

   She has performed countless small mercies for her friends and neighbors.

5. something that gives evidence of divine favor; blessing.

   It was just a mercy we had our seat belts on when it happened.

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idioms

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

   They were at the mercy of their captors.

Mercy ² American  

[mur-see] / ˈmɜr si /

noun

1. a female given name.

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mercy British  

/ ˈmɜːsɪ /

noun

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

3. a relieving or welcome occurrence or state of affairs

   his death was a mercy after weeks of pain

4. in the power of

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mercy More Idioms  

1. see at the mercy of.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mercies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mercy

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”

Explanation

Compassion leads you to have mercy, which is like forgiveness. If you have mercy on someone, you let them off the hook or are kind to them somehow. This is a quality that has to do with compassion, forgiveness, and leniency. If convicted of a crime, you might plead for the judge's mercy, meaning a lesser punishment. When people say "May God have mercy on me!" they're asking for forgiveness. Mercy may be given or received. You might show your little cousin mercy by not forcing him to eat a worm. People jokingly say a bad singer is showing mercy if she ends the show early.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mercy Mercy mercies

On “To Catch a Predator,” there is no differentiation between the levels of danger the men pose; no mercy for those who understand they’re sick and desperately plead for rehabilitation.

From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026

“We can’t be at the mercy of others forever—one day they say they’ll sell you a chip, and the next day they say they won’t,” Huawei’s rotating chairman, Eric Xu, said Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

The longer you live, the more you are at the mercy of the effects of inflation.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

He noted that creators making 2000s-style content on other platforms are often at the "mercy" of algorithms.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

Much of the time he slept, which was a mercy, for he coughed less in his sleep.

From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan

The group of sisters positioned on the corner in front of the office were from different orders: Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of the Precious Blood, Sisters of Charity and Sisters of Divine Providence.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

About 200 of those flights are handled by Mercy Air, a for-profit service that flies patients and bills their insurers for the costs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Gaza Sky Geeks was founded in 2012 by Google and Mercy Corps.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

“Some people are still treating themselves at home,” said Rose Tchwenko, Mercy Corps’ country director for Congo, “because of the fear of treatment centers and stigma outweighing trust in the response.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

“I haven’t even dared to smile. I’m afraid if I let myself go an inch I’ll do something disgraceful again. But Mercy smiles all day long, and still keeps order.”

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare

Leaving it to another day to lay out guideposts for data-related warrants risked leaving Americans’ privacy to the tender mercies of zealous law enforcement and profit-minded corporations.

From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026

Let us at least give thanks for small mercies.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026

Suzanna’s problems include the apparent near-insolvency of her father upon his death—possibly jeopardizing her studies in psychology—and the untender mercies of her mother, Susan, played with delectable evil-queen imperiousness by Linda Emond.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026

The Rangers players were disconsolate but, given Liverpool gave them seven last time out and there were fears that Napoli could do the same, perhaps they will leave Italy thankful for small mercies.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2022

Forgive me, O Heavenly Father, according to the multitude of thy mercies.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Related Words

• benevolence
• blessing
• charity
• clemency
• forgiveness
• generosity
• goodwill
• grace
• leniency
• pity
• sympathy
• tolerance