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
-
Newton’s employment In late 2024, an advisory board to the prosecutor’s office called for the Police Department to fire Newton, who at the time had killed three people and faced several other excessive force allegations.—
Ben Wheeler,
Kansas City Star,
22 Jan. 2026
-
The company shipped patients excessive volumes of devices each month, using these fraudulent billings to artificially inflate the company’s financial reporting and its stock price, the government alleged.—
Sam Tabachnik,
Denver Post,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Grant me ruthless access to the psychological image, discomfortable mercy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
-
His new persona as a fighting moderate, a Democrat in tune with the country’s shifting desires and ruthless toward the man at the top, deftly speaks to the needs of a party desperate to regain the White House.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Engineers can test extreme scenarios without physical risk.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Research has shown that images of extreme violence can impact mental health, increasing symptoms of anxiety and depression.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
In the film, Leonardo DiCaprio plays Bob Ferguson, a former revolutionary who must save his teenage daughter after she’s kidnapped by the merciless army officer, Colonel Lockjaw (played by Sean Penn).—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Iran’s attorney general has vowed to pursue merciless legal action against the latter, including the death penalty.—
Hira Humayun,
CNN Money,
12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
This moment marked the crux of a seemingly insane personal challenge that Liberato—an ultrarunner, coach, and yes, regular psychedelics user—took on in 2025.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside,
22 Jan. 2026
-
What's going on in Minneapolis is insane Come on.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
20 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Without prosecutors empowered to bring charges against wrongdoers, judges willing to strike down overreach, legislators daring enough to demand investigations and change laws, and citizens outraged enough to protest, any revelations by journalists will fall on stony ground.—
Susan Chira,
Foreign Affairs,
2 Dec. 2025
-
After that historic journey, NASA charted a new course toward Apophis, a stony metal-rich NEA that offers a sharp scientific contrast to Bennu's carbon-rich composition (and was once thought to pose a serious impact risk to Earth).—
Samantha Mathewson,
Space.com,
28 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
On the continental shelf, these areas are located in shallower waters rich in nutrients, often associated with colder waters and steep seabed slopes that bring food to the surface.—
Rodrigo Tardin,
The Conversation,
26 Jan. 2026
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Shop steep sales on quilts, duvet covers, and more cozy bedroom essentials.—
Jamie Fischer,
Better Homes & Gardens,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The Veyron was Volkswagen Group at its most extravagant and ambitious, and that’s saying something for its time.—
Byron Hurd,
The Drive,
22 Jan. 2026
-
President Abraham Lincoln wore cravats, as did Hollywood actor Cary Grant and the extravagant entertainer Liberace.—
Kristina Kukolja,
NPR,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unmerciful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unmerciful. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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