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.
Mercifully, the Supreme Court may be cognizant of both the incomprehensibility of immigration paperwork and the weighty consequences of denaturalization and green card rescission.
From Slate • Sep. 15, 2025
Mercifully, we are at least back in Scotland, a big rebellion is on its way and if “Outlander” is any gauge, another time traveler should be showing up sometime very soon.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2025
Mercifully for Edmonton, they have Leon Draisaitl, their German goal-scoring virtuoso and overtime reaper, who yet again found magic in the sudden-death stanza.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2025
Mercifully, in such situations the jet can be operated from a distance of half a kilometer.
From BBC • Oct. 5, 2023
Mercifully, the door began to roll shut again.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Definitions 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.
