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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Recent Examples of unmerciful
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
The temperature climbed as more gas pushed and compressed itself into the small space, and the heat became unmerciful, exacerbated by the syrupy sensation of the increasingly dense atmosphere.
—Rachel Lance, WIRED, 16 Apr. 2024
In Nazi ideology, descent was destiny—inescapable, unmerciful, and total.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 20 July 2023
What hit viewers, then and now, with the strength of an unmerciful iceberg is how entirely uncynical this movie is.
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 15 Dec. 2022
How have Willis and Kastor excelled for 20 years and more in that unmerciful context?
—Roger Robinson, Outside Online, 18 Feb. 2021
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
The temperature climbed as more gas pushed and compressed itself into the small space, and the heat became unmerciful, exacerbated by the syrupy sensation of the increasingly dense atmosphere.
—Rachel Lance, WIRED, 16 Apr. 2024
In Nazi ideology, descent was destiny—inescapable, unmerciful, and total.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 20 July 2023
What hit viewers, then and now, with the strength of an unmerciful iceberg is how entirely uncynical this movie is.
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 15 Dec. 2022
How have Willis and Kastor excelled for 20 years and more in that unmerciful context?
—Roger Robinson, Outside Online, 18 Feb. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unmerciful
Adjective
-
Protecting Financial Privacy: The Act ensures that digital financial systems do not compromise individual freedoms or privacy due to excessive government oversight. — Yahoo! Finance and Investopedia contributed to this report.—
Alexis Simmerman,
Austin American Statesman,
14 July 2025
-
Whether your hair is naturally dry or parched from excessive color treatments and heat styling, brittle strands are a stubborn bummer.—
Annie Blackman,
Glamour,
14 July 2025
Adjective
-
Son Hee is one half of a ruthless twin assassin duo, working alongside his brother Bacho.—
Allison DeGrushe Published,
EW.com,
14 July 2025
-
Her 6-0, 6-0 rout at the hands of a ruthless Iga Świątek was a reminder that no sport is more psychologically brutal than tennis.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
12 July 2025
Adjective
-
While the booster performed impressively under extreme conditions, an unexpected anomaly caught engineers' attention: around 15 seconds before shutdown, the nozzle appeared to detach and release debris, accompanied by a bright plume flare.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
11 July 2025
-
While many farmers lean on a relentless optimism to get through the uncertainty of relying on the weather for a living, extreme weather disasters like catastrophic floods, droughts and wildfires can take a toll.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 July 2025
Adjective
-
Frank Trapper / Contributor/Corbis Entertainment Lydia is a high-ranking and merciless executive at Madrigal Electromotive who helps supply Walt's meth operation.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 July 2025
-
While Charlie Brown played things safe, Snoopy lived an exuberant life in his imagination, casting himself as a frustrated novelist, gleeful dancer, merciless attorney and even a prolific flying ace in a World War I Sopwith Camel.—
Chris Carra,
Smithsonian Magazine,
26 June 2025
Adjective
-
Amanda learned in like 10 seconds, which is insane.—
Scott Roxborough,
The Hollywood Reporter,
24 Mar. 2025
-
The emu egg—a two pound, eight-inch ovoid with a sultry teal shell gently speckled in pale green—seemed like just the right absurdist final flourish for an already insane endeavor.—
Helen Rosner,
The New Yorker,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
In addition to Tha Carter III, Wayne’s recent release Tha Carter VI drops from No. 47 to No. 124, a steep decline just a month into its run.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
-
Since March, the Trump administration has oscillated between implementing and pausing steep tariffs on some of the United States’ largest trading partners.—
Cailey Gleeson,
jsonline.com,
14 July 2025
Adjective
-
Per the logline, gaining access to the yacht’s extravagant amenities won’t be so simple.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
14 July 2025
-
Ra’s decades-long adherence to this personal mythology, along with his air of serene bemusement and his extravagant robes and headdresses, led to his popular image as a colorful eccentric.—
Ekow Eshun
July 11,
Literary Hub,
11 July 2025
Adjective
-
There are, after all, a finite number of traditional colleges, but a seemingly infinite number of pathways beyond college.—
Maria Flynn,
Time,
11 July 2025
-
Creative nonfiction, by contrast, demands loyalty to fact but offers infinite flexibility in perspective, interpretation, and voice.—
Matthew Clark Davison,
Literary Hub,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unmerciful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unmerciful. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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