merciful

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɜː.sɪ.fl̩/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɝ.sɪ.fl̩/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mer‧ci‧ful

Adjective

merciful (comparative more merciful, superlative most merciful)

1. Showing mercy.

   Synonyms: pitiful, relentful, ruthful; see also Thesaurus:merciful

   Antonyms: cruel, merciless; see also Thesaurus:cruel

   • 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.

Derived terms

• merciful heavens
• 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 Greek: 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)
• Māori: whakaaroha
• Norman: mînséthicordieux
• Old English: mildheort
• 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

  Latin: 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)

  Ottoman Turkish: رحیم

• 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