Meaning & use
mercy
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Meanings
noununcountable
Kindness or forgiveness shown toward someone who could rightfully be punished or treated harshly.
Grammar: Uncountable in this sense: show mercy, not *a mercy. For the countable use, see the next sense.
Patterns
- show someone mercy
- beg for mercy
- have mercy on someone
- without mercy
The judge showed mercy and gave a suspended sentence.
The defeated soldiers threw down their weapons and begged for mercy.
The critics attacked the film without mercy.
nounusually singularliterary
A kind or fortunate event that prevents or relieves suffering.
Grammar: Takes an or an and is usually singular: it was a mercy. The plural appears in small mercies.
Patterns
- a mercy that
- be thankful for small mercies
It was a mercy that nobody was home when the tree fell on the house.
At least his pain ended quickly; that was a mercy.
The trains are running again, so let's be thankful for small mercies.
phraseidiom
Helplessly in the power of someone or something; unable to protect yourself.
Grammar: Fixed phrase; always followed by of: at the mercy of the weather.
Patterns
- at the mercy of someone
- at the mercy of something
The tiny boat was at the mercy of the storm.
Without a lawyer, she felt at the mercy of the legal system.
Small businesses are at the mercy of rising rents.
Word forms
| plural | mercies |
|---|
Common combinations
- show mercy
- The judge showed mercy to the first-time offender.
- beg for mercy
- The trapped animal cried out as if it were begging for mercy.
- at the mercy of
- Small farmers are at the mercy of the weather.
- without mercy
- The reviewer criticized the novel without mercy.
- an act of mercy
- Ending the animal's suffering was an act of mercy.
Synonyms and how they differ
- compassion
- Concern for someone who is suffering; broader than mercy and not linked to having the power to punish.
- clemency
- Mercy shown officially by a judge, ruler, or government; formal and legal in tone.
- leniency
- Mildness in punishment; weaker than mercy and implies a lighter penalty rather than forgiveness.
- pity
- Feeling sorry for someone; weaker than mercy and can sound condescending.
Opposites
Word family
- merciful adjective
- Showing mercy; kind and forgiving.
- mercifully adverb
- In a merciful way; also used to mean thankfully.
- merciless adjective
- Showing no mercy.
- mercilessly adverb
- In a cruel way, with no pity.
Commonly confused: mercy or pity?
mercy vs pity
Pity is a feeling of sorrow for someone's situation; mercy is an act of kindness or forgiveness toward someone in your power.
Practice
The judge showed ___ by giving a first-time offender a lighter sentence.
Choose one answer.
A lighter sentence for someone who could have been punished more harshly is an act of mercy. Cruelty is the opposite of kindness; suspicion and haste do not collocate with show in this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mercy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.