unmerciful

[ uhn-mur-si-fuh l ]

/ ʌnˈmɜr sɪ fəl /

adjective

merciless; relentless; severe; cruel; pitiless.

unsparingly great, extreme, or excessive, as amounts: to talk for an unmerciful length of time.

Nearby words

Origin of unmerciful

First recorded in 1475–85; un-¹ + merciful

Related formsun·mer·ci·ful·ly, adverbun·mer·ci·ful·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for unmercifully

They were apt to slip away from him in this case and sting him unmercifully with bullets.
The Strength of the Pines|Edison Marshall
They probably will guy us unmercifully, too, about yesterday.
Bert Wilson at the Wheel|J. W. Duffield
He teased Red unmercifully and it was one time when Red was flustered.
Ted Marsh on an Important Mission|Elmer Sherwood
I snubbed him unmercifully, but he was one of those self-satisfied, self-assured creatures incapable of taking a snubbing.
A Book of Ghosts|Sabine Baring-Gould

The papers the next day were fairly enthusiastic, with one exception, and that one criticized us unmercifully.
Nat Goodwin's Book|Nat C. Goodwin

British Dictionary definitions for unmercifully

unmerciful

/ (ʌnˈmɜːsɪfʊl) /

adjective

showing no mercy; relentless

extreme or excessive

Derived Formsunmercifully, adverbunmercifulness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for unmercifully

unmerciful

adj.

late 15c., from un- (1) "not" + merciful. Related: Unmercifully.