merciful
English · Thesaurus
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merciful
- /ˈmɜː.sɪ.fl̩/ UK
- /ˈmɝ.sɪ.fl̩/ US
Where it comes from
From Middle English merciful, mercyful, equivalent to mercy + -ful. Displaced native Old English mildheort.
adjective more merciful · most merciful
-
Showing mercy.
`Listen, Holly. Thou art a good and honest man, and I fain would spare thee; but, oh! it is so hard for woman to be merciful.'
Similar: pitiful, relentful, ruthful, clement, lenient, merciable, mercied, merciful, safe · Opposite: cruel, merciless, barbarous, bowelless, brutal, compassionless, flagitious, demonic, despiteful, diabolic, diabolical, fell
Opposite: cruel, inclement, merciless, relentless, unclement, unlenient, unmercied, unmerciful
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: compassionate, humane, gracious, kind, clement, mercy, caring, clemency, benevolent, sympathetic, good, charitable, forgiving, lenient, noble, pity
adjective
Opposite: cruel, inclement, merciless, relentless, unclement, unlenient, unmercied, unmerciful
Translations
Every language
adj showing mercy
| Español | misericordioso, misericorde |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 자비롭다 jabiropda |
| 日本語 | 慈悲深い jihibukai, 慈愛深い jiaibukai |
| 中文 | 仁慈 réncí, 慈悲的 cíbēi-de |
| Português | misericordioso, piedoso |
| Français | miséricordieux, indulgent, sensible |
| Deutsch | gnädig, barmherzig |
| Italiano | misericordioso |
| Ελληνικά | ελεήμων eleḯmon, ελεήμονας eleḯmonas |
| Română | milostiv, îndurător |
| Русский | милосе́рдный milosérdnyj, ми́лостивый mílostivyj, сострада́тельный sostradátelʹnyj |
| Tiếng Việt | khoan hồng, khoan dung, nhân từ, từ bi |
| العربية | رَحِيم raḥīm |
| עברית | רַחֲמָן raẖamán, רַחוּם raẖúm |
Talk about this word "merciful." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/merciful. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. merciful. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/merciful "merciful." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/merciful.Cite this
@misc{merciful_2026,
title = {merciful},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/merciful},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
