Definitions for mercy
ˈmɜr simer·cy

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.0 / 8 votes

1. clemency, mercifulness, mercynoun

   leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice

   "he threw himself on the mercy of the court"

2. mercifulness, mercynoun

   a disposition to be kind and forgiving

   "in those days a wife had to depend on the mercifulness of her husband"

3. mercifulness, mercynoun

   the feeling that motivates compassion

4. mercynoun

   something for which to be thankful

   "it was a mercy we got out alive"

5. mercynoun

   alleviation of distress; showing great kindness toward the distressed

   "distributing food and clothing to the flood victims was an act of mercy"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. mercynoun

   relenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another

   She took mercy on him and quit embarrassing him.

2. mercynoun

   forgiveness or compassion, especially toward those less fortunate.

   Have mercy on the poor and assist them if you can.

3. mercynoun

   A tendency toward forgiveness, pity, or compassion

   Mercy is one of his many virtues.

4. mercynoun

   Instances of forbearance or forgiveness.

   Psalms 40:11 Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord

5. mercynoun

   A blessing, something to be thankful for.

   It was a mercy that we were not inside when the roof collapsed

6. Mercynoun

   A female given name from English, one of the less common Puritan virtue names.

   Mr Pecksniff was a moral man — a grave man, a man of noble sentiments and speech — and he had had her christened Mercy. Mercy! oh, what a charming name for such a pure–souled Being as the youngest Miss Pecksniff! Her sister’s name was Charity. There was a good thing! Mercy and Charity!

7. Etymology: From merci, from merci (compare merci, mercit), from mercedem, accusative of merces, from merx. Displaced native Middle English are, ore "mercy" (from Old English ar "mercy, grace"), Middle English mildse "mercy, clemency" (from Old English milds, milts "mercy, kindness").

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. MERCYnoun

   Etymology: merci, French, contracted from misericordia, Latin.

   1. Tenderness; goodness; pity; willingness to save; clemency; mildness; unwillingness to punish.

   Oh heav’n have mercy on me!
   —— I say, amen.
   And have you mercy too? William Shakespeare.

   Mercy is not strain’d;
   It droppeth, as the gentle rain from heav’n,
   Upon the place beneath. It is twice bless’d;
   It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. William Shakespeare.

   Arise, and have mercy upon Zion. Psal. cii. 13.

   Thou, O God, art gracious, long-suffering, and in mercy ordering all. Wisd. xv. 1.

   Examples of justice must be made for terror to some; examples of mercy for comfort to others: the one procures fear, and the other love. Francis Bacon, Advice to Villiers.

   Good heav’n, whose darling attribute we find
   Is boundless grace, and mercy to mankind,
   Abhors the cruel. Dryden.

   We adore his undeserved mercy towards us, that he made us the chief of the visible creation. Richard Bentley, Sermons.

   2. Pardon.

   ’Twere a paper lost,
   As offer’d mercy is. William Shakespeare, Cymbeline.

   Cry mercy lords,
   That you have ta’en a tardy sluggard here. William Shakespeare.

   I cry thee mercy with all my heart, for suspecting a friar of the least good-nature. John Dryden, Spanish Friar.

   3. Discretion; power of acting at pleasure.

   Condition!
   What good condition can a treaty find
   I’ th’ part that is at mercy? William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

   The most authentick record of so ancient a family should lie at the mercy of every infant who flings a stone. Alexander Pope.

   A lover is ever complaining of cruelty while any thing is denied him; and when the lady ceases to be cruel, she is, from the next moment, at his mercy. Jonathan Swift.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Mercy

   Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French merci, from Medieval Latin merced-, merces, from Latin, "price paid, wages", from merc-, merxi "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and legal context, mercy may refer both to compassionate behavior on the part of those in power (e.g. mercy shown by a judge toward a convict), or on the part of a humanitarian third party, e.g., a mission of mercy aiming to treat war victims.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. mercy

   Mercy can be defined as an act of compassion, kindness, or forgiveness shown towards someone who is deserving of punishment or suffering. It involves refraining from inflicting harm or punishment, and instead showing leniency or granting mercy to the person in need. Mercy is often associated with feelings of empathy, sympathy, and understanding, and it involves a willingness to alleviate someone's suffering or grant them a second chance.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. Mercynoun

   forbearance to inflict harm under circumstances of provocation, when one has the power to inflict it; compassionate treatment of an offender or adversary; clemency

2. Mercynoun

   compassionate treatment of the unfortunate and helpless; sometimes, favor, beneficence

3. Mercynoun

   disposition to exercise compassion or favor; pity; compassion; willingness to spare or to help

4. Mercynoun

   a blessing regarded as a manifestation of compassion or favor

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Mercy

   Mercy is a broad term that refers to benevolence, forgiveness and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social and legal contexts. The concept of a "Merciful God" appears in various religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Performing acts of mercy as a component of religious beliefs is also emphasized through actions such as the giving of alms, and care for the sick and Works of Mercy. In the social and legal context, mercy may refer both to compassionate behavior on the part of those in power, or on the part of a humanitarian third party, e.g., a mission of mercy aiming to treat war victims.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Mercy

   mėr′si, n. tenderness and forbearance shown in sparing an offender in one's power: a forgiving disposition: clemency: an act of mercy: an undeserved blessing: compassion or benevolence.—adjs. Mer′ciable (Spens.), merciful; Mer′ciful, full of, or exercising, mercy.—adv. Mer′cifully.—n. Mer′cifulness.—v.t. Mer′cify (Spens.), to deal mercifully with, to pity.—adj. Mer′ciless, without mercy: unfeeling: cruel.—adv. Mer′cilessly.—ns. Mer′cilessness, want of mercy; Mer′cy-seat, the seat or place of mercy; the covering of the Jewish Ark of the Covenant: the throne of God.—At the mercy of (another), wholly in the power of; For mercy! or For mercy's sake! an exclamatory appeal to pity; Great mercy=Gramercy; Sisters of mercy, members of female religious communities who tend the sick, &c. [Fr. merci, grace—L. merces, mercedis, pay, in later L. also 'favour.']

The Roycroft DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. mercy

   1. The charity of tyrants. 2. The forgiveness of one scoundrel by another. 3. The culmination of the Will-to-Power and its final apotheosis. 4. A quality which, like soup, the more it is strained the less soup and the more water you have. 5. In war a universal mode of subjugating a people.

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. mercy

   Song lyrics by mercy -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by mercy on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. MERCY

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Mercy is ranked #38484 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Mercy surname appeared 575 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Mercy.
   
   55.4% or 319 total occurrences were White.
   39.8% or 229 total occurrences were Black.
   2.6% or 15 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   1% or 6 total occurrences were of two or more races.

Matched Categories

1. • Blessing
   • Compassion
   • Humaneness
   • Leniency
   • Relief

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'mercy' in Nouns Frequency: #2756

How to pronounce mercy?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say mercy in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of mercy in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of mercy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of mercy in a Sentence

1. Frank Atwood:

   Thank you precious father for coming today and shepherding me into the faith. I want to thank my beautiful wife who has loved me with everything she has, i pray the Lord will have mercy on all of us and that the Lord will have mercy on me.

2. Farid Ahmed:

   I want a heart that will be full of love and care and full of mercy and will forgive easily, because this heart doesn't want any more lives to be lost.

3. Calvin Coolidge:

   Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

4. Garcia Padilla:

   We are at the mercy of the judge.

5. Defense Secretary Mark Esper:

   Many of those ventilators deployed with the USNS Comfort and Mercy in New York and( Los Angeles), respectively. They are with our field hospitals. We have several field hospitals deployed in New York, in Seattle, in New Orleans and Dallas. And then we provided several hundred more that are pre-positioned and ready to go, particularly with regard to New York City when they're needed.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=mercy
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Mercy
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=mercy
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercy
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercy
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=mercy
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=mercy
9. ^ The Roycroft Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/36566/36566-h/36566-h.htm#:~:text=mercy
10. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
    https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html