MERCIFUL Synonyms: 120 Similar and Opposite Words

merciful

adjective

Definition of merciful

as in patient

showing kindness and forgiveness instead of harshness or cruelty especially to someone under one's authority or control When our English teacher caught us cheating, we prayed he would be merciful in deciding our punishment.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of merciful That painful night in Dallas now feels merciful, compared with what this Avs team just experienced. — Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 27 May 2026 As the sun began to peek over the hillside, offering a merciful burst of warmth, Alonso Abugattas called this year’s Trillium Trek to order. — Ashley Stimpson, Washington Post, 11 May 2026 Would a just and merciful God approve of what is happening? — Kenneth Seeskin, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2026 Would Homelander be merciful and spare just this one? — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for merciful

Recent Examples of Synonyms for merciful

Adjective

As more telehealth sites prescribe these medications and pitch them as a way to lose weight while saving money, some patient advocates argue that more people like Kinkade will fall through the cracks of a broken regulatory system.

— Alana Semuels, Time, 7 Oct. 2026
Its return to the market was initially accompanied by strict requirements for blood monitoring to ensure patient safety.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of patient

Adjective

To George, there are benevolent choices that businessmen owe to those who their work touches.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026
With new ownership, the Lakers’ braintrust no longer has the protection of the benevolent Buss family or the baseball-centric Mark Walter.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of benevolent

Adjective

That her means of exit is abandoning her newborn twins is less than sympathetic, but in a different era Cathy would have options beyond a domesticity that never suited her in the first place.

— Alison Herman, Variety, 1 Oct. 2026
In my experience, many corporate teams drift between sympathetic over-activation (burnout) and dorsal shutdown (disengagement).

— Roy Ward, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of sympathetic

Adjective

The five years between home playoff games were not kind to fans of the South Siders.

— Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 7 Oct. 2026
For her performance as Thelma, the kind young stranger who shares a bus trip with the elderly woman returning to her long-ago home in Bountiful, Saint won the 1954 Outer Critics Circle Special Award.

— Greg Evans, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of kind

Adjective

Graise knows just what to do with a role like Philip, who is seen as kindly and self-sufficient but insecure and treated unjustly by the community.

— Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026
Reiner appeared as the kindly Albert Schnurr, a restaurant consultant and mentor to line cook Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson), on season 4 of the culinary drama.

— Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of kindly

Adjective

Cagle added that the photo showed a confident, brilliant, brave, polite, gracious, kind and gentle young man.

— Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Oct. 2026
He was focussed on the man, encouraging him in a gentle voice to put one foot in front of the other.

— Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of gentle

Browse Nearby Words

mercies

merciful

mercifully

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Merciful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/merciful. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of merciful

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

inscrutable

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes