Mercy — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

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

a disposition to be kind and forgiving

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/mˈɜːsi/

🇬🇧British English

/mˈɜːsi/

🇮🇳Indian English

/mˈɜːsi/

2 syllables Say it as /mˈɜːsi/.

Examples

he threw himself on the mercy of the court
in those days a wife had to depend on the mercifulness of her husband
it was a mercy we got out alive

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

mercifulness clemency

Antonyms

mercilessness

Parts of Speech

noun	leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice “he threw himself on the mercy of the court”
noun	a disposition to be kind and forgiving “in those days a wife had to depend on the mercifulness of her husband”
noun	the feeling that motivates compassion
noun	something for which to be thankful “it was a mercy we got out alive”
noun	alleviation of distress; showing great kindness toward the distressed “distributing food and clothing to the flood victims was an act of mercy”

Word Forms

clement	adjective	(used of persons or behavior) inclined to show mercy
merciful	adjective	showing or giving mercy

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Barmherzigkeit

Nachsicht und Mitgefühl gegenüber Straftätern durch eine mit der Rechtsprechung beauftragte Person oder Behörde

🇫🇷French

miséricorde

indulgence et compassion manifestées envers les délinquants par une personne ou un organisme chargé d'administrer la justice

🇪🇸Spanish

merced

indulgencia y compasión mostrada hacia los delincuentes por una persona o agencia encargada de administrar justicia

🇮🇹Italian

misericordia

clemenza e compassione mostrate nei confronti dei delinquenti da una persona o da un ente incaricato di amministrare la giustizia

🇳🇱Dutch

genade

clementie en medeleven getoond jegens overtreders door een persoon of instantie die belast is met het uitoefenen van gerechtigheid

🇵🇹Portuguese

misericórdia

clemência e compaixão demonstradas para com os infratores por uma pessoa ou agência encarregada de administrar a justiça

🇷🇺Russian

милосердие

снисходительность и сострадание, проявленные к правонарушителям лицом или учреждением, которому поручено отправлять правосудие

India

🇮🇳Hindi

दया

न्याय प्रदान करने का आरोप लगाने वाले व्यक्ति या एजेंसी द्वारा अपराधियों के प्रति दिखाई गई उदारता और करुणा

🇧🇩Bengali

করুণা

বিচার পরিচালনার জন্য অভিযুক্ত ব্যক্তি বা সংস্থা কর্তৃক অপরাধীদের প্রতি নম্রতা এবং সমবেদনা দেখানো হয়

🇮🇳Tamil

கருணை

நீதியை நிர்வகிப்பதாக குற்றம் சாட்டப்பட்ட ஒரு நபர் அல்லது ஏஜென்சியால் குற்றவாளிகளிடம் காட்டப்படும் மென்மை மற்றும் இரக்கம்

🇮🇳Telugu

దయ

న్యాయాన్ని నిర్వహించే బాధ్యత కలిగిన వ్యక్తి లేదా ఏజెన్సీ ద్వారా నేరస్థుల పట్ల చూపిన సానుభూతి మరియు కరుణ

🇮🇳Marathi

दया

न्याय प्रशासित करण्याचा आरोप असलेल्या व्यक्ती किंवा एजन्सीद्वारे गुन्हेगारांप्रती दयाळूपणा आणि करुणा दाखवली जाते

🇮🇳Gujarati

દયા

ન્યાયનું સંચાલન કરવાનો આરોપ ધરાવતી વ્યક્તિ અથવા એજન્સી દ્વારા અપરાધીઓ પ્રત્યે ઉદારતા અને કરુણા દર્શાવવામાં આવે છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕರುಣೆ

ನ್ಯಾಯವನ್ನು ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುವ ಆರೋಪ ಹೊತ್ತಿರುವ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಅಥವಾ ಏಜೆನ್ಸಿಯಿಂದ ಅಪರಾಧಿಗಳ ಕಡೆಗೆ ತೋರಿದ ಮೃದುತ್ವ ಮತ್ತು ಸಹಾನುಭೂತಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

കരുണ

നീതി നടപ്പാക്കാൻ ചുമതലപ്പെട്ട ഒരു വ്യക്തിയോ ഏജൻസിയോ കുറ്റവാളികളോട് കാണിക്കുന്ന സൗമ്യതയും അനുകമ്പയും

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਦਇਆ

ਕਿਸੇ ਵਿਅਕਤੀ ਜਾਂ ਏਜੰਸੀ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਨਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਪ੍ਰਬੰਧ ਕਰਨ ਦੇ ਦੋਸ਼ ਵਿੱਚ ਅਪਰਾਧੀਆਂ ਪ੍ਰਤੀ ਨਰਮੀ ਅਤੇ ਹਮਦਰਦੀ ਦਿਖਾਈ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

رحم

کسی شخص یا ایجنسی کی طرف سے مجرموں کے ساتھ نرمی اور ہمدردی کا مظاہرہ کیا جاتا ہے جس کا انصاف کا انتظام کرنے کا الزام ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

怜悯

负责司法的个人或机构对罪犯表现出宽大和同情

🇯🇵Japanese

慈悲

正義を執行する責任を負った人物または機関が犯罪者に対して示す寛大さと同情心

🇰🇷Korean

자비

정의를 집행하는 책임을 맡은 개인이나 기관이 범죄자에 대해 나타내는 관대함과 연민

🇻🇳Vietnamese

lòng thương xót

sự khoan dung và lòng trắc ẩn đối với người phạm tội bởi một người hoặc cơ quan chịu trách nhiệm quản lý công lý

🇹🇭Thai

ความเมตตา

ความผ่อนปรนและความเมตตาที่แสดงต่อผู้กระทำผิดโดยบุคคลหรือหน่วยงานที่รับผิดชอบด้านการบริหารความยุติธรรม

🇮🇩Indonesian

belas kasihan

keringanan hukuman dan kasih sayang yang ditunjukkan kepada pelanggar oleh seseorang atau lembaga yang bertugas menyelenggarakan keadilan

🇵🇭Filipino

awa

kaluwagan at pakikiramay na ipinakita sa mga nagkasala ng isang tao o ahensya na kinasuhan sa pangangasiwa ng hustisya

🇲🇾Malay

belas kasihan

kelonggaran dan belas kasihan yang ditunjukkan terhadap pesalah oleh seseorang atau agensi yang dipertanggungjawabkan untuk melaksanakan keadilan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

رحمة

التساهل والتعاطف الذي يظهر تجاه الجناة من قبل شخص أو وكالة مكلفة بإقامة العدالة

🇮🇷Persian

رحمت

نرمی و شفقت نسبت به مجرمان توسط شخص یا سازمانی که مسئولیت اجرای عدالت را بر عهده دارد

🇹🇷Turkish

merhamet

adaleti sağlamakla görevli bir kişi veya kurum tarafından suçlulara gösterilen hoşgörü ve şefkat

🇮🇱Hebrew

רַחֲמִים

סלחנות וחמלה כלפי עבריינים על ידי אדם או סוכנות המואשמים בעשיית צדק

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'mercy'?

The primary meaning of 'mercy' is 'leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'mercy' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'mercy' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'mercy' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'mercy' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'mercy' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'mercy' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'mercy' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'mercy' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'mercy' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'mercy' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted