English noun: mercy |
1. | mercy (act) leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice |
|
| Samples | He threw himself on the mercy of the court.
|
|
| Synonyms | clemency, mercifulness |
|
| Broader (hypernym) | lenience, leniency |
|
| Narrower (hyponym) | amnesty, commutation, free pardon, pardon, quarter, re-sentencing, reprieve, respite |
|
2. | mercy (attribute) a disposition to be kind and forgiving |
|
| Samples | In those days a wife had to depend on the mercifulness of her husband.
|
|
| Synonyms | mercifulness |
|
| Broader (hypernym) | humaneness |
|
| Narrower (hyponym) | compassion, forgivingness, kindness, lenience, leniency, lenity, mildness, pity |
|
| Antonyms | unmercifulness, mercilessness |
|
3. | mercy (feeling) the feeling that motivates compassion |
|
| Synonyms | mercifulness |
|
| Broader (hypernym) | compassion, compassionateness |
|
| Narrower (hyponym) | forgiveness |
|
4. | mercy (state) something for which to be thankful |
|
| Samples | It was a mercy we got out alive.
|
|
| Broader (hypernym) | blessing, boon |
|
5. | mercy (act) alleviation of distress; showing great kindness toward the distressed |
|
| Samples | Distributing food and clothing to the flood victims was an act of mercy.
|
|
| Broader (hypernym) | ministration, relief, succor, succour |
|