Jump To:

• 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.

---

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.

---

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

---

mercy More Idioms  

1. see at the mercy of.

---

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

The market can show “little mercy when expectations and reported figures diverge, and AI-related stocks quickly began to show cracks,” Lee added.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

In recent months, the stores have only had a few pounds of rice and sugar for sale, leaving shoppers at the mercy of state-run supermarkets that operate in dollars or small private stores.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

Clemency, meaning mercy or leniency, lets the president reduce the punishment for, or even forgive, federal crimes.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

It was a small mercy appreciated by the home support, but the gulf in class when it mattered was still evident as Spain's smooth, unhurried style cut a sharp contrast to England's often frantic efforts.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Union families called her an angel of mercy.

From "Fannie Never Flinched" by Mary Cronk Farrell

The Mercy helicopter, operated by Air Methods, took off from the Pebbly Beach helipad at 7:45 p.m., multiple flight radar records show.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

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

I grew up with cats, dogs, birds, rats and bunnies, and my husband and I have a mutt, Mercy, whom we love dearly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

While discussing God, Ed would quote Michael Himes, “There is nothing we can do to make God not love us,” and the Trappist monk Thomas Merton, “Mercy, within Mercy, within Mercy.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

My family'd follow Mercy Watt's old man gaff-catchin' round the Vale of Evesham, down the Severn Valley, tradin' horses with other Romanies an' farmers an' breeders an' that.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

The smallest of mercies for Celtic was that it stayed at three.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

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

And, mercy of all mercies, there was a range, slumbering but alight, and above it a rack of warming towels, hanging there to dry after having been washed.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

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

---