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mercy

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of mercy

1 kind, gentle, or compassionate treatment especially towards someone who is undeserving of it

  • always show your enemies mercy, because it makes you a better person
Synonyms of mercy

charity, clemency, forbearance, lenience, leniency, lenity, mercifulness, quarter
Words Related to mercy

humanitarianism, philanthropy

empathy, pity, sympathy, understanding

commiseration, favor, grace

benevolence, care, compassion, gentleness, goodness, goodwill, humaneness, kindliness, kindness, meekness, mildness, niceness, softness, tenderness

altruism, generosity, magnanimity, nobility

affection, devotion, love, worship
Near Antonyms of mercy

hard-heartedness, mercilessness, pitilessness, ruthlessness, uncharitableness

reprisal, requital, retaliation, retribution, revenge, vengeance

venom, vindictiveness, virulence, vitriol

atrocity, barbarity, brutality, cruelty, sadism, savageness, savagery, truculence, viciousness, violence, wantonness

castigation, chastisement, discipline, punishment, scolding

abhorrence, abomination, detestation, execration, hate, hatred, loathing

cattiness, malevolence, malice, maliciousness, malignancy, malignity, meanness, nastiness, spite, spitefulness, spleen

animosity, antagonism, antipathy, bitterness, enmity, gall, grudge, hostility, jealousy, pique, resentment

bile, jaundice, rancor

hatefulness, invidiousness

coarseness, hardness, harshness, roughness

2 an act of kind assistance

  • did a mercy for the stranded motorist and was richly rewarded
Synonyms of mercy

benevolence, boon, courtesy, favor, grace, indulgence, kindness, service, turn
Words Related to mercy

dispensation, waiver

advantage, benefit, blessing, godsend, manna

liberty, license (or licence), privilege
Near Antonyms of mercy

hindrance, hurdle, impediment, interference, obstacle

3 the capacity for feeling for anotherʼs unhappiness or misfortune

  • a woman of such mercy that sheʼs been known to cry over dead rodents
Synonyms of mercy

bigheartedness, charity, commiseration, compassion, feeling, good-heartedness, heart, humanity, kindheartedness, kindliness, kindness, largeheartedness, pity, ruth, softheartedness, sympathy, warmheartedness
Words Related to mercy

feelings, responsiveness, sensibility, sensitivity

affection, love, regard

affinity, empathy, rapport

altruism, benevolence, benignancy, benignity, generosity, goodwill, humaneness, humanism, humanitarianism, philanthropy
Near Antonyms of mercy

callousness, coldness, disinterest, indifference, unconcern

cruelty, harshness

animosity, antipathy, dislike, hatred, hostility
Antonyms of mercy

coldheartedness, hard-heartedness, inhumanity, inhumanness, mercilessness, pitilessness

Synonym Discussion of mercy

mercy, charity, clemency, grace, leniency mean a disposition to show kindness or compassion. mercy implies compassion that forbears punishing even when justice demands it.
    • threw himself on the mercy of the court
charity stresses benevolence and goodwill shown in broad understanding and tolerance of others.
    • show a little charity for the less fortunate
clemency implies a mild or merciful disposition in one having the power or duty of punishing.
    • the judge refused to show clemency
grace implies a benign attitude and a willingness to grant favors or make concessions.
    • by the grace of God
leniency implies lack of severity in punishing.
    • criticized the courts for excessive leniency

Learn More about mercy

  1. See words that rhyme with mercy Dictionary: Definition of mercy Spanish Central: Translation of mercy Nglish: Translation of mercy for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of mercy for Arabic speakers

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