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, Aviv has bravely attempted to untangle the mother-daughter dynamic and bring it into the light.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
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 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, after years being tormented by back and elbow problems, this is 'only' damage to his thumb.
From BBC • May 21, 2025
Mercifully, she doesn’t add “dick” this time, but she does grab the pink community meeting flyer taped to the door and hands it to him—like she’s doing him a favor.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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.
