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• 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.

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Which Elizabethan play is the source of the quotation, "The quality of mercy is not strained"?

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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.

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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.

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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

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mercy More Idioms  

1. see at the mercy of.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mercies
  plural

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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”

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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

These tools have shown signs of success, but officials admit they remain at the mercy of the tides.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

Kenny added that Fr Doyle was held in great esteem by his own men, but was also noted for his kindness and mercy towards injured German prisoners-of-war.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

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

I have some doubts whether livestreaming the execution is advisable, but Mr. Hegseth should be commended for his honesty, and for showing Mr. Hasan mercy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

I was on my knees on the floor, with my hands clenched and lifted up to him, the way people look in pictures when they’re pleading for mercy.

From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan

“This is life-altering,” said Carla Kurkjian, an oncologist at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City, who wasn’t involved in the studies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Mercy Gilbert Medical Center said in a statement that the hospital conducted "a thorough review of all aspects of the care provided to learn what happened and to make meaningful changes to strengthen our care".

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

That evening at around 5:30 p.m., a California Highway Patrol helicopter transported the woman to Mercy Medical Center Mt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 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

And who knows, if he’s there with Mercy — Oh dear, Judith is going to mind terribly.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare

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

Through a combination of luck, lawyering and above all the mercies of the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2024

You sustain our world by your power, your compassion is over all your works, and your mercies never cease.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2023

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

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