merciful
/'mə:siful/
Definition
- 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!
Adjective
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(used conventionally of royalty and high nobility) gracious
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our merciful king
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showing or giving mercy
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sought merciful treatment for the captives
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a merciful god
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