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
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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
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While regular coffee consumption has been linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, excessive coffee intake may have the opposite effect.—
Brittany Lubeck,
Verywell Health,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Google is using this method to help developers optimize their apps, as no one wants their service to cause excessive battery drain.—
James Peckham,
PC Magazine,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Lydia, naturally, has her own reasons for pairing Agnes and Daisy together, evolving from a ruthless zealot and disciplinarian in Handmaid’s Tale into a kind of double agent looking to overthrow Gilead from within the hallowed halls of power in Testaments, as the finale set her up to do.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Mar. 2026
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After enduring a tough patch in business, fate changes his course, turning him into El Serpiente, a ruthless political strategist.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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However, recent warmer temperatures this winter and extreme wind events have beaten down the wildflowers and signaled that summer is approaching, which can deplete the bloom, according to Fraga.—
Cierra Morgan,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Pakistan has announced extreme austerity measures, South Korea is introducing its first fuel price cap in almost 30 years, and G7 ministers met to discuss potentially releasing strategic oil reserves.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Waltz lends a slimy charisma to the merciless SS colonel, who gets a satisfying comeuppance via carving knife.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
4 Mar. 2026
-
These are two of the most conniving, merciless people on television, and they’re bonded by the twin desire to be more like the other.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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If he was convicted, a jury would then have to decide whether Abril was insane when the park shooting occurred.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Like, dude, the views from the top are insane.—
Outside Online,
Outside Online,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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With a 15 percent slope and soils consisting of shattered rock and very stony loam with a small percentage of clay, the soil is low in organic matter and drains extremely well.—
Mike DeSimone,
Robb Report,
22 Feb. 2026
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The sculptor, David Adickes, was an Army veteran who'd wanted his stony visages to gleam.—
Danielle Paquette The Washington Post,
Arkansas Online,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Health officials warn that steep cuts to federal and state homeless services threaten to reverse the progress achieved over the last two years.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
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Accessibility The paths aren’t paved, and some of the tents, like ours, are up a relatively steep hill.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Noem has also been under fire for extravagant spending at the department, while placing restrictions on FEMA disaster relief funds.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
6 Mar. 2026
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From quick grocery runs to soaking up sunshine on the beach, these popular slides prove that comfort and style don’t require an extravagant splurge.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unmerciful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unmerciful. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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