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View synonyms for merciful

merciful

[ mur-si-fuhl ]

adjective

  1. full of mercy; characterized by, expressing, or showing mercy; compassionate:

    a merciful God.

    Synonyms: sympathetic, tender, benignant, forgiving, lenient, clement, kind

    Antonyms: relentless, cruel



merciful

/ ˈmɜːsɪfʊl /

adjective

  1. showing or giving mercy; compassionate
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈmercifulness, noun
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Other Words From

  • merci·ful·ly adverb
  • merci·ful·ness noun
  • over·merci·ful adjective
  • over·merci·ful·ly adverb
  • over·merci·ful·ness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of merciful1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; mercy + -ful
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Example Sentences

He made this claim during an interview with Fox & Friends on Sunday, after co-host Will Cain tried to portray the former president as merciful.

From Salon

“She used to be very kind and merciful. She used to be very sweet with people like that.”

The merciful lack of damage gave them free range to make light of the quake, or ignore it altogether.

From BBC

Harrison David Rivers’s merciful new drama, “The Salvagers,” is not a romance, but it emphatically is a love story: about a furious, heartsick young actor and his imperfect parents, steadfastly trying to help him heal.

The last week had marked a merciful hiatus in the region’s worst bloodshed in decades.

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