Merciful Meaning
/ˈmɜː.sɪ.fl̩/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjShowing mercy.
Sentence Examples
In the name of God, The most Gracious, The most Merciful.
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Be wise and pray to a merciful god.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The king was known for being ____ and forgiving towards his enemies.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The judge's ____ decision to reduce the sentence was based on the defendant's genuine remorse and clean record.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English merciful, mercyful, equivalent to mercy + -ful. Displaced native Old English mildheort.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"`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.'"
— 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →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."
— 1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The king was known for being ____ and forgiving towards his enemies.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The judge's ____ decision to reduce the sentence was based on the defendant's genuine remorse and clean record.