mercilessly
Americanadverb
-
without mercy, pity, or tolerance.
I was mercilessly bullied in school throughout my childhood.
Any speaker who goes on longer than 15 minutes will be interrupted mercilessly by the moderator.
-
without reprieve; unbearably.
An unusually humid July morning had morphed into a mercilessly hot afternoon.
Etymology
Origin of mercilessly
Explanation
To behave mercilessly is to act without showing pity or sympathy, like a bully who torments other kids or a basketball team that beats the opponent 125 – 0. Whenever possible, it’s best to avoid people who act mercilessly. When you show mercy, you're kind and empathetic. Without any mercy, you’re merciless, and when you act this way you act mercilessly. You show no pity! Some big brothers kid their little sisters mercilessly, and a judge who gives the maximum sentence for a minor crime has ruled mercilessly. Mercy is at the root of mercilessly, from the Old French merci, which means both "thanks" and "pity." If people act mercilessly, tell them thanks for nothing!
Vocabulary lists containing mercilessly
"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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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.
Mercilessly, that back edge plays not as a hazard but as out-of-bounds.
From Golf Digest • Jul. 8, 2019
Mercilessly discarding our physical surroundings in favour of inner peace will work for your joy factor, until you need to furnish a kids’ party with paper plates and plastic cups.
From The Guardian • Sep. 18, 2016
Mercilessly for the Jags, with half-an-hour still to play, the damage did not get worse.
From BBC • Oct. 29, 2014
Mercilessly, Brosnan recited the regulation that each butcher’s carcass slaughtered at the abattoirs must be branded with a distinctive brand in indelible red.
From Newsweek
Mercilessly he confiscated the estates of those who displeased him, and with caprice equal to his mercilessness, he conferred their possessions upon his favorites.
From The Empire of Russia by Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
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.
