Link Centre Dictionary

mercy

UK/ˈmɜːsi/ US/ˈmɝsi/ common

noun

1.

leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice

  • “he threw himself on the mercy of the court”
Synonyms
2.

a disposition to be kind and forgiving

  • “in those days a wife had to depend on the mercifulness of her husband”
Synonyms
Antonyms
3.

the feeling that motivates compassion

Synonyms
4.

something for which to be thankful

  • “it was a mercy we got out alive”
5.

alleviation of distress; showing great kindness toward the distressed

  • “distributing food and clothing to the flood victims was an act of mercy”

Origin

From Middle English mercy, merci, from Anglo-Norman merci (compare continental Old French merci, mercit), from Latin mercēs (“wages, fee, price”), from merx (“wares, merchandise”). Displaced native Old English mildheortnes (literally "mildheartedness"). Cognate with French merci, whence the doublet merci.

Phrases

  • angel of mercy
  • at the mercy of
  • Feast of the Divine Mercy
  • grand mercy
  • have mercy
  • house of mercy
  • lawks a-mercy
  • may God have mercy on your soul

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.