| Library / English Dictionary |
MERCIFULNESS
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice
Example:
he threw himself on the mercy of the court
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("mercifulness" is a kind of...):
lenience; leniency (lightening a penalty or excusing from a chore by judges or parents or teachers)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mercifulness"):
commutation; re-sentencing ((law) the reduction in severity of a punishment imposed by law)
amnesty; free pardon; pardon (the formal act of liberating someone)
quarter (clemency or mercy shown to a defeated opponent)
reprieve; respite (the act of reprieving; postponing or remitting punishment)
Derivation:
merciful (showing or giving mercy)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A disposition to be kind and forgiving
Example:
in those days a wife had to depend on the mercifulness of her husband
Synonyms:
mercifulness; mercy
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("mercifulness" is a kind of...):
humaneness (the quality of compassion or consideration for others (people or animals))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mercifulness"):
compassion; pity (the humane quality of understanding the suffering of others and wanting to do something about it)
forgivingness; kindness (tendency to be kind and forgiving)
lenience; leniency; lenity; mildness (mercifulness as a consequence of being lenient or tolerant)
Antonym:
mercilessness (inhumaneness evidenced by an unwillingness to be kind or forgiving)
Derivation:
merciful ((used conventionally of royalty and high nobility) gracious)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The feeling that motivates compassion
Synonyms:
mercifulness; mercy
Classified under:
Nouns denoting feelings and emotions
Hypernyms ("mercifulness" is a kind of...):
compassion; compassionateness (a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mercifulness"):
forgiveness (compassionate feelings that support a willingness to forgive)
Derivation:
merciful (showing or giving mercy)
