mercy

¹

[ mur-see ]

noun

, plural mer·cies

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, mildness, lenity, leniency, clemency, indulgence, forgiveness

   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.

Mercy

²

[ mur-see ]

noun

1. a female given name.

mercy

/ 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. at the mercy of
   in the power of

Word History and Origins

Origin of mercy¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of mercy¹

C12: from Old French, from Latin mercēs wages, recompense, price, from merx goods

Idioms and Phrases

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.

More idioms and phrases containing mercy

see at the mercy of .

Example Sentences

But a person with political stress is largely at the mercy of others.

From Los Angeles Times

“He gave us mercy. We didn’t deserve this.”

From Los Angeles Times

The family is just one of many who have found themselves at the mercy of so-called "bulldozer justice" - when authorities swiftly demolish the homes of those accused of crimes - but hopefully among the last.

From BBC

“The Turkish police catch 100 to 150 migrants every night. They have no mercy on them. They break their arms and legs,” he says.

From BBC

“We will beat up anime kids. … We will bring the American family back to the woods, back to self-sufficiency. … We will oust illegal immigrants with zero mercy.”

From Salon

Related Words

• benevolence
• blessing
• charity
• clemency
• forgiveness
• generosity
• goodwill
• grace
• leniency
• pity
• sympathy
• tolerance