unmerciful

[ uhn-mur-si-fuhl ]

adjective

1. merciless; relentless; severe; cruel; pitiless.
2. unsparingly great, extreme, or excessive, as amounts:

   to talk for an unmerciful length of time.

unmerciful

/ ʌnˈmɜːsɪfʊl /

adjective

1. showing no mercy; relentless
2. extreme or excessive

Derived Forms

• unˈmercifulness, noun
• unˈmercifully, adverb

Other Words From

• un·merci·ful·ly adverb
• un·merci·ful·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unmerciful¹

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

Example Sentences

On a bleak night, there was a moment of dark comedy when Brendan Rodgers sat down to assess the unmerciful hiding that had just been inflicted on his team.

From BBC

You remembered the halcyon days of the first coming of Brendan Rodgers and the unmerciful hidings his team doled out to their chums from across the city.

From BBC

The word "cruel" originates from the Latin word crudelis, which is defined as "hardhearted, bloodthirsty, unmerciful and inhuman."

From Salon

In March, Manchin told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph that the 4th Circuit "has been unmerciful on allowing any progress" by Mountain Valley Pipeline.

From Salon

It took the huge and sudden migration of the Gold Rush for the tribe to be confronted by unmerciful invaders.

From Seattle Times