merciful

/'mə:siful/

Thân thiện

Our merciful king pardoned the prisoner.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Showing or exercising mercy; compassionate: Describes someone who is kind and forgiving, especially towards someone they have power over or who deserves punishment.
   • Providing relief from suffering; characterized by mercy: Describes an action, decision, or outcome that alleviates pain or hardship.

Usage

• Used to describe a person's character or nature.
• Used to describe an act, judgment, or event that is less severe or painful than it could have been.
• Often contrasted with "cruel" or "merciless."

Examples

• Describing a person:
  • The judge was merciful and gave the young offender a lighter sentence.
  • A merciful ruler will always listen to the pleas of the people.
• Describing an action or outcome:
  • Death came as a merciful release from his long illness.
  • The team's defeat was mercifully quick, sparing us a long, drawn-out game.

Advanced Usage

• "mercifully" (adverb): In a merciful manner; used to express relief that something bad was not as severe as feared.
  • The lecture ended mercifully early.
• Conventional use for royalty/nobility: An archaic or formal use meaning "gracious."
  • We pray for our merciful sovereign.

Variants and Related Words

• Mercifulness (noun): The quality of being merciful.
  • Her mercifulness towards the prisoners was widely admired.
• Mercy (noun): Compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone. This is the root noun from which "merciful" is derived.
  • He begged for mercy from the king.

Synonyms

• Compassionate: Feeling or showing sympathy and concern for others.
• Lenient: (Especially of a punishment) Not severe.
• Forgiving: Ready and willing to forgive.
• Humane: Having or showing compassion or benevolence.

Antonyms

• Cruel: Willfully causing pain or suffering to others.
• Merciless: Showing no mercy.
• Ruthless: Having or showing no pity or compassion.
• Harsh: Unpleasantly rough or severe.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• At the merciful hands of someone: Subject to someone's mercy or judgment.
  • The fate of the captives lay at the merciful hands of the general.
• Thank merciful heavens/God: An exclamation of relief.
  • Thank merciful heavens you're safe!

Học thuật

Adjective

1. (used conventionally of royalty and high nobility) gracious
   • our merciful king
2. showing or giving mercy
   • sought merciful treatment for the captives
   • a merciful god