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.
And nothing about her life before or after the crime moved people to think she should be treated mercifully.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 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
The late GOP senator from South Carolina died suddenly on Saturday evening at the age of 71 due to an aortic dissection, a death that would have mercifully been fast.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
When the buzzer mercifully sounded, the box score made no bones about the fact the Trojans had been outworked and outclassed in almost every facet of the game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
They mercifully sat on the other side of the room, but they were facing Seven, which made her squirm in her seat a little.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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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.
