- merciful
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adjective
Date: 14th century
full of mercy ; compassionate <a merciful ruler>; also providing relief <a merciful end> • mercifulness noun
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
merciful
Look at other dictionaries:
Merciful — Mer ci*ful, a. [Mercy + ful.] 1. Full of mercy; having or exercising mercy; disposed to pity and spare offenders; unwilling to punish. Opposite of {merciless}. [1913 Webster] The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious. Ex. xxxiv. 6. [1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
merciful — index benevolent, charitable (lenient), humane, lenient, placable, propitious, sensitive (easily … Law dictionary
merciful — mid 14c.; see MERCY (Cf. mercy) + FUL (Cf. ful). Related: Mercifully … Etymology dictionary
merciful — clement, *forbearing, tolerant, lenient, indulgent Analogous words: compassionate, *tender: benignant, benign, *kind, kindly: forgiving, pardoning, condoning (see EXCUSE vb) Antonyms: merciless Contrasted words: *grim, implacable, relentless,… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
merciful — [adj] kind, sparing all heart*, beneficent, benign, benignant, bleeding heart*, charitable, clement, compassionate, condoning, easygoing, feeling, forbearing, forgiving, generous, gentle, gracious, heart in right place*, humane, humanitarian,… … New thesaurus
merciful — ► ADJECTIVE 1) showing mercy. 2) giving relief from suffering … English terms dictionary
merciful — [mʉr′si fəl] adj. full of mercy; having, feeling, or showing mercy; compassionate; lenient; clement mercifully adv. mercifulness n … English World dictionary
merciful — adj. 1) merciful to 2) merciful to + inf. (it was merciful of her to offer help) * * * [ mɜːsɪf(ə)l] merciful to merciful to + inf. (it was merciful of her to offer help) … Combinatory dictionary
merciful — [[t]mɜ͟ː(r)sɪfʊl[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED If you describe God or a person in a position of authority as merciful, you mean that they show kindness and forgiveness to people. ...a merciful God... We can only hope the court is merciful. 2) ADJ GRADED If… … English dictionary
merciful — mer|ci|ful [ˈmə:sıfəl US ˈmə:r ] adj 1.) merciful death/end/release a death or end to something that seems fortunate because it ends someone s suffering ▪ I think my uncle s death was a merciful release for my poor aunt. 2.) being kind to people… … Dictionary of contemporary English
merciful — mer|ci|ful [ mɜrsıfl ] adjective MAINLY LITERARY 1. ) showing kindness toward someone, even when other people might punish or be cruel to them: our merciful Lord 2. ) something that is merciful makes you feel grateful and lucky because it… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
