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.
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Recent Examples of merciful
And the Bills routed the Jets, 40-14, to inch New York one game closer to a merciful end for a miserable season.
—
Zak Keefer, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
Eventually, the company will miss an earnings target or announce an earnings warning, and, as recent history has shown, the market will not be merciful in its reaction.
—Charles Rotblut, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Federer breaks the record of 12 straight finals victories shared by Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.
2008 — Michigan’s 42-7 drubbing by Ohio State put a merciful end to the worst season in Michigan’s 129 years of intercollegiate football.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
Discrete levels are filled with an array of obstacles and enemies, some of which culminate in gigantic bosses whose easygoing challenge offers a merciful break from the likes of Elden Ring.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for merciful 
Zak Keefer, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
Eventually, the company will miss an earnings target or announce an earnings warning, and, as recent history has shown, the market will not be merciful in its reaction.
—Charles Rotblut, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Federer breaks the record of 12 straight finals victories shared by Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.
2008 — Michigan’s 42-7 drubbing by Ohio State put a merciful end to the worst season in Michigan’s 129 years of intercollegiate football.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
Discrete levels are filled with an array of obstacles and enemies, some of which culminate in gigantic bosses whose easygoing challenge offers a merciful break from the likes of Elden Ring.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for merciful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for merciful
Adjective
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For the time being, Bay is promising to be patient and supportive.—
Kevin Baxter,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2025
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And even if all goes well, investors will need to be patient, likely for years, before Aurora generates revenue and profits to justify its $11.7 billion market cap.—
Alan Ohnsman,
Forbes,
21 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
The 34-year-old Uncut Gems actress has revealed that her current New York home came with a surprise: a benevolent spirit named Beauty, who has taken up residence in the basement.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
22 Jan. 2025
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In it, humanity’s future has been largely tamed by a brilliant mathematician who uses statistical laws to control human behavior and protect against catastrophic events, ensuring what is supposed to be benevolent and stable rule for centuries.—
Margaret MacMillan,
Foreign Affairs,
7 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Now, to me the phrase means that girls just wanna be real… and vulnerable… and inclusive… and compassionate and on and on.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
23 Jan. 2025
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Their wishes covered everything from fulfilling the legacy of Jimmy Carter to creating a healthier, more peaceful and compassionate world.—
Laurel Dalrymple,
NPR,
18 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The hierarchy is sympathetic to the difficulties faced by former St. Pauli head coach Hurzeler in a new country and at a new level — St. Pauli won 2.Bundesliga under his command last season — with numerous changes to the squad and the non-playing staff all exacerbated by a mountain of injuries.—
Andy Naylor,
The Athletic,
16 Jan. 2025
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Older South Koreans, however, are more sympathetic to Yoon.—
Se Eun Gong,
NPR,
15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Samia is quick to accept the break-up, even gracious.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
24 Jan. 2025
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This is a commercial transaction, but even commercial transactions can be gracious — if everyone knows the rules and abides by them.—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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But few discouraging words were heard about Sosa at the Cubs Convention, which is made up of a kinder, gentler group of fans, and a higher percentage of children who think of Sosa and Clark the Cub as similar mythical characters.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Jan. 2025
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God did me a solid on this one❤️. Thank you for all the kind words of celebration and encouragement.—
Gil Macias,
People.com,
19 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The cast includes Stephen Merchant as the voice of the mouse, Kristen Wiig as a scenery-chewing evil aunt, and Jim Broadbent as a kindly but clueless king.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
20 Dec. 2024
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In his fourth feature, director Hsiao Ya-Chuan follows the unsentimental education of a motherless 11-year-old boy, Liao Jie (Bai Run-yin), raised in poverty by his kindly father, Liao Tai-lai (Liu Kuan-Ting), a waiter at a busy banqueting hall.—
Alissa Simon,
Variety,
25 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Nurse and aesthetician Natalie Aguilar, co-founder of N4 Skincare, recommends paring down your skincare regimen to the gentlest products in your regimen that your skin is known to tolerate.—
Jessica Ourisman,
Forbes,
18 Jan. 2025
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As such, retinol rookies may consider starting with a gentler formulation like this one, which is also fragrance-free.—
Jenny Berg,
Vogue,
18 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near merciful
Cite this Entry
“Merciful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/merciful. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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