as in patient
showing kindness and forgiveness instead of harshness or cruelty especially to someone under one's authority or control
When our English teacher caught us cheating, we prayed he would be merciful in deciding our punishment.
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Recent Examples of merciful
Savory pork and briny tapenade slam against your palate, while a merciful scattering of greens doused with lemon juice softens the blow.
—
Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
The stoppage in the 11th round was a merciful one from Barrera’s corner.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
Orner practices merciful distillation, infusing every word with regret, sorrow, or wonder.
—Donna Seaman
june 18, Literary Hub, 18 June 2025
If 10 percent of people are going to be cruel no matter what and 10 percent will be merciful no matter what, then the greatest battle of our lives, the real one, is not good versus evil.
—Stephanie Dillon, Rolling Stone, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for merciful
Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
The stoppage in the 11th round was a merciful one from Barrera’s corner.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
Orner practices merciful distillation, infusing every word with regret, sorrow, or wonder.
—Donna Seaman
june 18, Literary Hub, 18 June 2025
If 10 percent of people are going to be cruel no matter what and 10 percent will be merciful no matter what, then the greatest battle of our lives, the real one, is not good versus evil.
—Stephanie Dillon, Rolling Stone, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for merciful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for merciful
Adjective
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Be patient, and look for available first-class spots about a week before your flight takes off.—
Alesandra Dubin,
Southern Living,
14 Sep. 2025
-
There have been teams that have tried to be super patient with the split-finger.—
Patrick Mooney,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The researchers call their approach a form of benevolent hacking that helps strengthen AI systems before weaknesses can be exploited.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Sep. 2025
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The social politics of these movies have never been great — the real-life Warrens were, by all accounts, pretty shitty people and not the gorgeous, benevolent forces portrayed by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson — but that’s easily dismissed in the name of movie magic.—
Emily Palmer Heller,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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In all of those cases, the patients had run out of other options, and the organs were transplanted not through a standard clinical trial, but under special rules that permit compassionate use of experimental therapies for people in especially dire situations.—
Nadia Kounang,
CNN Money,
8 Sep. 2025
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Pure techno-solutionism falls short; building compassionate, regenerative AI demands philosophical and ethical rigor alongside technical excellence.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Public sentiment seemingly reached a turning point in July as reports of famine and Israeli soldiers firing on food lines in Gaza drove even sympathetic Democrats to issue rebukes.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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Perhaps, though, Kubrick's cold view of Jack and choice to diminish some of King's sympathetic nuances serve to heighten the terror; how much does knowing the complex motivations of a domestic abuser help their victims?—
James Grebey,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Penalties on penalties on penalties, gracious hosts, UCLA’s 13 flags Friday gifted the Lobos 116 yards – running the season’s tally to 30 penalties for 275 yards.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
13 Sep. 2025
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Goodness gracious, what an adorable little burrito that kid is!—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Even kind gestures or neutral actions can be misinterpreted as hostile or manipulative.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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But some of them weren’t kind and that does something to you psychologically.—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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There’s no Nurse Ratched here, however, but there is the kindly Steve, who watches out for all of them, especially Shy, who is hiding a secret from the others.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
5 Sep. 2025
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To that end, BALLS imagines a reality where the kindly Professor NPC who offers you a choice of three starter monsters is actually the one who created both the technology and normalized culture of trapping living things in spherical prisons.—
Josh Weiss,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Make sure to choose the cool water setting and a low-spin or gentle wash cycle, and add in gentle laundry detergent according to the load size on your machine.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
12 Sep. 2025
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More serious collectors may prefer waddling to the local Cars & Coffee with an earlier VW, recalling a kinder, gentler, and far slower-paced time than our present age.—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Merciful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/merciful. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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