merciful

English

Etymology

From Middle English merciful, mercyful, equivalent to mercy +‎ -ful. Displaced native Old English mildheort.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɜːsɪfl̩/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɝsɪfl̩/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mer‧ci‧ful

Adjective

merciful (comparative more merciful, superlative most merciful)

1. Showing mercy.
   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

     `Listen, Holly. Thou art a good and honest man, and I fain would spare thee; but, oh! it is so hard for woman to be merciful.'

   • 1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:

     The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence.

Synonyms

• ruthful

Antonyms

• merciless
• cruel

Derived terms

• mercifully
• mercifulness
• overmerciful
• unmerciful

Translations

showing mercy

Arabic: رَحِيم (raḥīm) Armenian: ողորմած (hy) (oġormac) Belarusian: міласэ́рны (milasérny), лі́тасцівы (lítascivy), мі́ласцівы (mílascivy), мі́ласлівы (mílaslivy) Bulgarian: милости́в (bg) (milostív), милосъ́рден (bg) (milosǎ́rden), състрада́телен (bg) (sǎstradátelen) Chinese: Mandarin: 仁慈 (zh) (réncí), 慈悲的 (zh) (cíbēi-de) Czech: milosrdný (cs), milostivý Dutch: barmhartig (nl), genadig (nl) Finnish: armelias (fi), armollinen (fi) French: miséricordieux (fr), indulgent (fr), sensible (fr) Georgian: გულმოწყალე (gulmoc̣q̇ale), სათნო (satno) German: gnädig (de), barmherzig (de) Gothic: 𐌱𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌸𐍃 (bleiþs), 𐌰𐍂𐌼𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍄𐍃 (armahairts) Greek: ελεήμων (el) (eleḯmon), ελεήμονας (el) (eleḯmonas) Ancient: ἐλεήμων (eleḗmōn) Hebrew: רַחֲמָן (he) m (raẖamán), רַחוּם m (raẖúm) Hungarian: kegyes (hu), könyörületes (hu) Italian: misericordioso (it) Japanese: 慈悲深い (ja) (じひぶかい, jihibukai), 慈愛深い (じあいぶかい, jiaibukai) Korean: 자비롭다 (ko) (jabiropda) Latgalian: žieleigs Latin: misericors (la) Latvian: žēlīgs Lithuanian: gailestingas Macedonian: милостив (milostiv), милослив (milosliv), милосен (milosen), милосрден (milosrden) Maori: whakaaroha Norman: mînséthicordieux Old English: mildheort Ottoman Turkish: رحیم Persian: مهربان (fa) (mehrabân), رحیم (fa) (rahim), بخشایشگر (fa) (baxšâyešgar) Plautdietsch: erboarmlich Polish: miłosierny (pl), litościwy (pl), miłościwy (pl) Portuguese: misericordioso (pt), piedoso (pt) m Romanian: milostiv (ro), îndurător (ro) Russian: милосе́рдный (ru) (milosérdnyj), ми́лостивый (ru) (mílostivyj), сострада́тельный (ru) (sostradátelʹnyj) Scottish Gaelic: tròcaireach, cneasta, truacanta Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: ми̏лоср̄дан, мѝлостӣв Roman: mȉlosr̄dan (sh), mìlostīv (sh) Slovak: milosrdný, milostivý Slovene: milosten, usmiljen Spanish: misericordioso (es), misericorde Swedish: nådig (sv) Tocharian B: aräñcatste Tok Pisin: marimari Turkish: merhametli (tr), rahman (tr), rahim (tr) Ukrainian: милосе́рдий (mylosérdyj), милосе́рдний (mylosérdnyj), ми́лостивий (mýlostyvyj), милости́вий (mylostývyj) Vietnamese: khoan hồng (vi) (寬洪), khoan dung (vi) (寬容), nhân từ (vi) (仁慈), từ bi (vi) (慈悲 (vi)) Yiddish: רחמנותדיק (rakhmonesdik)

Anagrams

• crimeful