Synonyms for mercy
Most common
compassion pity loving-kindness benevolence kindness leniency clemency
Synonyms by meaning
Noun
1. Compassion — forgiveness or compassion, especially toward those less fortunate
compassion, pity, loving-kindness, benevolence, sympathy, tenderness, commiseration, benignity, grace dated, ruth dated
2. Kindness — relenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another
kindness, leniency, forbearance, gentleness, mildness, quarter, lenience, lenity
3. Clemency
Other
forgiveness, blessing, favor US, favour UK, benefit
Definitions
- n. 1
Relenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another.
She took mercy on him and quit embarrassing him.
- n. 2
Forgiveness or compassion, especially toward those less fortunate.
Have mercy on the poor and assist them if you can.
- n. 3
A tendency toward forgiveness, pity, or compassion.
Mercy is one of his many virtues.
Related words
- Word family
- merciful mercify merciless
- Phrases
- have mercy mercy killing angel of mercy mercy fuck mercy me for mercy's sake
Forms
- Plural
- mercies → compassions, pities, loving-kindnesses, benevolences…
Choose the right word
Mercy is the exercise of less severity than one deserves, or in a more extended sense, the granting of kindness or favor beyond what one may rightly claim. Grace is favor, kindness, or blessing shown to the undeserving; forgiveness, mercy, and pardon are exercised toward the ill-deserving.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- pity It was a pity that Tom couldn't come to our party.
- compassion Compassion is entirely absent from his character.
- benevolence Benevolence is abstract, a good deed is concrete.
- kindness Kyoko had the kindness to carry my baggage for me.
- leniency My virtues are called kindness and leniency.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| mercy | rising | |
| pity | rising | |
| compassion | rising | |
| benevolence | rising | |
| kindness | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- pity2, ruth1
- 5 letters
- grace1, favor2
- 6 letters
- favour2, pardon2, lenity
- 7 letters
- benefit3, quarter2
- 8 letters
- blessing2, sympathy3, kindness2, clemency3, leniency3, mildness, lenience
- 9 letters
- benignity
- 10 letters
- compassion3, tenderness3, gentleness3
- 11 letters
- forgiveness3, benevolence4, forbearance3
- 12 letters
- mercifulness
- 13 letters
- commiseration
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (pity2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- miséricorde
- Español
- misericordia
- Deutsch
- Barmherzigkeit
- Català
- misericòrdia