merciful
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of merciful
Explanation
Use the adjective merciful to describe someone who has compassion for other people, especially when he is in a position to punish them or treat them harshly. If you're caught cheating on a math test, your best hope is that your teacher will be merciful, or that she will forgive you for what you've done. Forgiving someone or relieving a person's pain are both merciful acts. The word merciful also has religious connotations which come from the root word mercy, used since the 12th century to mean "God's forgiveness of his creatures' offenses." The origin is the Old French merci, "pity or thanks."
Vocabulary lists containing merciful
Power Suffix: -ful
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Positive Words to Describe a Person
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Lee's General Order No. 9: A Farewell Address
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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.
In America, Presbyterians preached salvation from sin through the grace of a merciful God.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
The end arrived in the sixth round, Joshua knocking Paul to the floor and Young waving the farce to a merciful conclusion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 20, 2025
More immediately, the lighthouse is now accessible only by an expensive helicopter ride, if the winds are merciful and it is not shrouded by fog.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2025
Handing her a two-year suspended prison sentence, Judge Mr Justice Linden said: "I recognise I have taken a merciful course."
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2025
Could one reach back in time and expect them to be as merciful as it was possible to be fifteen years later with a mind and body unviolated by gods?
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
