mercy
n. uncountablen. kindness or forgiveness shown to someone who could be punished. You use this when someone has the power to be mean or strict but chooses to be nice instead.
n. compassion or forbearance shown toward an offender or an enemy who is in one's power. Often used in legal or religious contexts to describe the mitigation of a deserved punishment.
The judge showed mercy and gave him a light sentence.
The soldiers showed mercy to their prisoners, providing them with food and medical care despite the ongoing conflict.
In many classical tragedies, the protagonist pleads for a mercy that the rigid laws of the state cannot provide, creating a tension between justice and human compassion.
From mercy in the 17th century; one of the less common Puritan virtue names. In modern use sometimes used to anglicize Spanish Mercedes.
Borrowed from French Mercy.
Commonly used in the phrase 'at the mercy of', meaning to be under the control of something powerful.