merciful
adjectivecommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈmɜː.sɪ.fl̩//
- United States//ˈmɝ.sɪ.fl̩//
Showing mercy.
adjective
- 1
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.'
The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence.
Etymology
From Middle English merciful, mercyful, equivalent to mercy + -ful. Displaced native Old English mildheort.
Forms
- comparative
- more merciful
- superlative
- most merciful