mercy
3 ENTRIES FOUND:
plural
mercies
plural
mercies
Britannica Dictionary definition of MERCY
1
[noncount]
:
kind or forgiving treatment of someone who could be treated harshly
-
He is a vicious criminal who deserves no mercy.
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She fell to her knees and asked/begged/pleaded for mercy.
-
Have you no mercy? = Are you utterly without mercy?
-
May God have mercy on us all. [=may God treat us all with kindness and forgiveness]
-
He showed no mercy to his enemies. = He showed his enemies no mercy. [=he treated his enemies very harshly]
-
The boss took mercy on us [=he treated us kindly] and let us go home early.
-
a man of mercy [=a man who treats other people with kindness and forgiveness]
-
The prisoner confessed his crimes and threw himself on the mercy of the court. [=the prisoner begged the court for mercy]
2
[noncount]
:
kindness or help given to people who are in a very bad or desperate situation
-
an act of mercy
-
They came on a mission/errand of mercy to provide food and medical care for starving children.
-
a mercy mission
3
[count]
:
a good or lucky fact or situation
-
It's a mercy that the building was empty when the fire started.
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We should be grateful/thankful for small mercies. [=even though bad things have happened to us, we should be grateful that our situation is not worse]
-
Thank heaven for small mercies.
4
old-fashioned + informal
— used as an interjection to show surprise
-
Mercy! That wind is cold!
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I'm not hungry, but mercy [=heavens, goodness], that food sure does smell good!
-
Mercy me! That wind is cold.
at the mercy of
or at someone's or something's mercy
:
in a position or situation in which you can be harmed by (someone or something you cannot control)
-
With no way to control the ship, we were at the mercy of the sea.
-
The people were at the mercy of the advancing army. = The army advanced, and the people were at their mercy. [=the people could do nothing to defend themselves from the army]
-
Our plans were at the mercy of the weather.
to the mercy of
or to the (tender) mercies of
:
without any protection from (someone or something you cannot control)
-
He had to leave his boat to the mercy of the storm.
-
As the army retreated, the people were left to the mercies of the advancing enemy.
