1
as in excessive
going beyond a normal or acceptable limit in degree or amount
she went into an unmerciful level of detail about her latest health problems
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
the critics were unmerciful in their assessments of the young actress's performance
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unmerciful
By that time, the internet blew up over Parker and Stone’s unmerciful comedic mockery of Trump.
—
Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
The result was unmerciful but gloriously funny, especially when Christine Baranski‘s liberal Diane Lockhart hallucinated news reports about Trump keeping a potbellied pig in the White House map room.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 20 May 2025
The drought is a source of mockery towards RCB, with opposition fans unmerciful in their scorn towards them and particularly Kohli.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
Yet viewers admire Oz’s aptitude to survive, his unmerciful resolve.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 26 Dec. 2024
His take on Prince Philip is both humanizing and unmerciful, cutting to the bone of a man portrayed in contradictory terms — petulant yet statesmanlike, intensely ambitious yet ineffectual, relatable one minute and contemptible the next.
—Will Harris, EW.com, 30 July 2024
In Nazi ideology, descent was destiny—inescapable, unmerciful, and total.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 20 July 2023
Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
The result was unmerciful but gloriously funny, especially when Christine Baranski‘s liberal Diane Lockhart hallucinated news reports about Trump keeping a potbellied pig in the White House map room.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 20 May 2025
The drought is a source of mockery towards RCB, with opposition fans unmerciful in their scorn towards them and particularly Kohli.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
Yet viewers admire Oz’s aptitude to survive, his unmerciful resolve.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 26 Dec. 2024
His take on Prince Philip is both humanizing and unmerciful, cutting to the bone of a man portrayed in contradictory terms — petulant yet statesmanlike, intensely ambitious yet ineffectual, relatable one minute and contemptible the next.
—Will Harris, EW.com, 30 July 2024
In Nazi ideology, descent was destiny—inescapable, unmerciful, and total.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 20 July 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unmerciful
Adjective
-
Officers placed McClain in a neck hold while Cooper and Cichuniec injected him with an excessive dose of ketamine.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
5 June 2026
-
The expansion followed numerous complaints from American shippers in the wake of global supply chain bottlenecks throughout 2021 and 2022, who had alleged that container shipping companies were bypassing them for service and charging them excessive late fees.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
The role of Chris Partlow, Marlo Stanfield's top lieutenant and ruthless hitman, was the first screen credit for Gbenga Akinnagbe.—
Derek Lawrence,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 June 2026
-
Lexi is adrift in the ruthless world of Hollywood.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
It should not be used for broiling, high-heat searing or any cooking method that requires extreme heat.—
Ryan Brennan
June 2,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2026
-
As with the rest of the hotel, rooms and suites blend extreme comfort and modern convenience with antique beauty, atmosphere and brilliant art.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Having catalogued the Black Death’s horrifying effects, Ibn Khatima went on to outline a series of preventative measures and active treatments designed to combat this merciless scourge.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 May 2026
-
The jokes on social media will be endless, and opposing fans will be merciless.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
20 May 2026
Adjective
-
After eighteen months of crisis that saw historic urban fires, harassment by federal immigration authorities, and the generalized anxiety that attends a place where rents are high and services low, public transit inadequate and gas prices insane, the city’s vitality is flagging.—
Dana Goodyear,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
-
Lots of wires, lots of insane stunts.—
Entertainment Weekly,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Oscar Wilde, for example, reposes beneath a hulking deity whose iconoclastic castration, back in 1961, did little to restrain pilgrims seeking to smear red lips across his stony physique.—
Emily Cox,
ARTnews.com,
22 May 2026
-
Instead of looking like a sleek urban loft, the room can quickly start to feel cold, stony, and impersonal.—
Natasha Bazika,
Martha Stewart,
9 May 2026
Adjective
-
An odd couple—one a goblin squeezed into an improbable trench-coat onesie, a fedora, and high heels—promenades down a steep incline while other strollers come and go.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
Freeman envisioned the steep bluff as a natural amphitheater and arranged the villas on staggered terraces that hug the headland to ensure unobstructed ocean views over the roofs below.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
The nurturing Moon centers your 2nd House of Finances as a supportive trine links to extravagant Jupiter in your 10th House of Career today beautifully.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
29 May 2026
-
Despite her reluctance, Ava decides to show up for her best friend, and the two embark on an extravagant European trip that involves driving stick shift in the streets of Paris, high-end dining, shopping and clubbing until dawn.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unmerciful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unmerciful. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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