mercynoun
uk/ˈmɜː.si/us/ˈmɝː.si/mercy noun (KINDNESS)
C2 [ U ] kindness that makes you forgive someone, usually someone that you have authority over:
She appealed to the judge to have mercy on her husband.
The prisoners pleaded for mercy.
The gunmen showed no mercy, killing innocent men and women.
be at the mercy of sb/sth
C2 to be in a situation where someone or something has complete power over you:
Poor people are increasingly at the mercy of money-lenders.
More examples
- He begged for mercy as the blows fell on him .
- Fishermen are always at the mercy of the forces of nature .
- They begged for mercy.
- He bowed down before the king and begged for mercy.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Lenient & merciful
- charitable
- charitably
- charity
- clemency
- ease
- ease up/off
- easy
- go easy idiom
- have a heart! idiom
- heart
- lenient
- magnanimous
- merciful
- quarter
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Weakness and vulnerability
mercy noun (EVENT/SITUATION)
[ S ] an event or situation that you are grateful for because it stops something unpleasant:
After months of suffering, his death was a mercy.
They were on a mercy mission to take food to the refugees when they were attacked.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Good luck and bad luck
- a blessing in disguise idiom
- bad/hard/tough luck! idiom
- be a good idiom
- be bad luck on sb idiom
- be down on your luck idiom
- blessing
- favour
- godsend
- grace
- hapless
- happenstance
- happily
- lap
- mischance
- misfortune
- mishap
- mixed blessing
- Murphy's law
- shame
- stroke
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Causing pleasure