unmerciful

/ʌn'mə:siful/

Thân thiện

The unmerciful sun beat down on the desert travelers.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Showing no mercy or compassion; cruel, harsh, or severe in treatment or judgment. Describes a person, action, or attitude that is pitiless and does not show any kindness or leniency.

Usage

• The adjective "unmerciful" is used to describe someone who acts without pity or an action that is excessively harsh. It often implies a degree of severity that is considered excessive or unjust.
• It is typically used in formal or literary contexts. In everyday speech, synonyms like "merciless" or "ruthless" are more common.
• It can modify nouns directly (e.g., an unmerciful critic) or be used after linking verbs like "be," "seem," or "become."

Examples

• As an adjective:
  • The judge was unmerciful in his sentencing, giving the maximum penalty for a minor crime.
  • She faced unmerciful criticism from the press after her mistake.
  • The summer heat was unmerciful, with no rain for months.

Advanced Usage

• "unmercifully" (adverb): In a manner showing no mercy; cruelly or severely.
  • The team was defeated unmercifully, with a final score of 10-0.
• The word can be used hyperbolically to describe non-human things, like weather or pain, to emphasize their extreme and relentless nature.
  • I have an unmerciful headache.

Variants and Related Words

• Merciless (adj.): Having or showing no mercy; synonymous with "unmerciful" and more frequently used.
• Unmercifulness (n.): The quality or state of being unmerciful. (This is a rare noun form).
• Ruthless (adj.): Having no pity; cruel. (A close synonym, often implying a driven, uncompromising harshness).

Synonyms

• Merciless: Showing no mercy.
• Pitiless: Feeling or showing no pity.
• Cruel: Willfully causing pain or suffering to others.
• Heartless: Lacking sympathy or feeling; unfeeling.
• Inexorable: Impossible to stop or prevent; often used for unrelenting forces.

Antonyms

• Merciful: Showing or exercising mercy.
• Compassionate: Feeling or showing sympathy and concern for others.
• Lenient: More merciful or tolerant than expected.
• Humane: Having or showing compassion or benevolence.

Idioms and Phrases

• While there is no common idiom using the exact word "unmerciful," the concept is captured in phrases like:
  • "Give no quarter": To show no mercy or clemency.
  • "Throw someone to the wolves": To abandon someone to a cruel or merciless situation.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. having or showing no mercy
   • the merciless enemy
   • a merciless critic
   • gave him a merciless beating

Từ đồng nghĩa

• merciless