The mercy meaning is compassion or forgiveness shown to someone who is in your power, especially when you could punish or harm them and choose not to. A referee who lets a nervous young player off with a warning instead of a red card is showing mercy.
Mercy also covers help given to people who are suffering, and it sits at the heart of many religious traditions, where it describes how God treats people and how people should treat each other. Ordinary English uses it in set phrases such as at the mercy of and it was a mercy that.
Entry at a glance
Meaning
Compassion or leniency toward someone you could punish or harmPart of speech
Noun (plural: mercies)Pronunciation
MUR-seeWord forms
merciful, mercifully, merciless, mercilesslyOrigin
Old French merci, from Latin merces, "reward, wages"; in English from the late 1100sOpposite
cruelty, severity, harshness, vengeanceRegister
Neutral; common in religious and legal language
Mercy meaning and definition: four senses
- Leniency. Not punishing someone as harshly as you could. A judge may show mercy in sentencing; a king might grant mercy to a captured rebel.
- Compassionate help. Kindness to those who are suffering, as in a mercy mission that flies medicine to a flood zone.
- Being in someone's power. At the mercy of means helpless against: "Small boats are at the mercy of the wind."
- A stroke of luck. "It is a mercy nobody was hurt" means we should be thankful.
What is the meaning of mercy at its core, then? Power used gently. Only someone who could cause harm can choose mercy.
Mercy in sentences
- The prisoner's family asked the court for mercy because he was caring for his sick mother.
- Without a tent, the hikers were at the mercy of the freezing night.
- The teacher showed mercy and gave the whole class an extra day for the assignment.
- Mercifully, the power came back before the food in the freezer thawed.
- The storm was merciless, tearing roofs from half the street.
The biblical definition of mercy
Any definition of mercy in the Bible starts with the original languages. In the Hebrew Bible, several words are translated mercy. Chesed means steadfast, loyal love, and rachamim means deep compassion. In Exodus 34 God is described as merciful and gracious, slow to anger and full of steadfast love, a passage Jewish tradition calls the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. The prophet Micah sums up what God asks as doing justice, loving kindness or mercy, and walking humbly with God.
Greek eleos carries most New Testament uses. Jesus says in Matthew 5:7 that the merciful are blessed, for they will receive mercy, and the parable of the Good Samaritan ends with the man who showed mercy being called the true neighbour. Christian teachers often draw a line between the two: mercy spares someone a penalty they have earned, and grace hands them a gift they never earned. Catholic teaching also lists works of mercy, such as feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and comforting those who grieve.
Mercy in other faiths
In Islam, mercy (rahma) is one of the most central ideas. Two of God's names, Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim, both come from the root for mercy, and the phrase that opens all but one chapter of the Quran calls God the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Muslims are encouraged to show mercy to people and animals alike. In Buddhism, compassion for all beings is a core quality to be developed, and teachers describe it as wishing others to be free from suffering. Across these traditions, mercy is linked with compassion, forbearance and forgiveness. More faith terms are explained in faith and belief.
From wages to forgiveness: the word's past
English has used mercy since the late 1100s, when it first referred to God's forgiveness of human wrongs. It came from Old French merci, reward, kindness or pity, which traces back to Latin merces, wages or reward, from merx, goods for sale. In Church Latin the word took on the sense of the heavenly reward given to those who are kind to the helpless. By the early 1200s English used it for a general readiness to forgive. Modern French keeps merci mainly as the word for thank you, while the mercy meaning in English stayed with pity and pardon.
Mercy, justice and similar words
| Idea | Core sense |
|---|---|
| mercy | Holding back deserved punishment or harm |
| justice | Giving people what is fair or deserved |
| clemency | Formal mercy, especially a lighter sentence or pardon by an authority |
| pity | Sorrow for someone's suffering; may not lead to action |
| retribution | Punishment as payback; close to the opposite |
Many thinkers see mercy and justice as a balance: justice sets what is deserved, mercy decides when to give less punishment than that.
Frequently asked questions
What is the definition of mercy in simple words?
Mercy is being kind or forgiving to someone when you have the power to punish or hurt them. It also means helping people who are suffering.
What does mercy mean in the Bible, and how do you define mercy in the Bible?
Scripture uses it for God's compassion and forgiveness toward people, and the kindness people are called to show each other. Hebrew words like chesed and rachamim and the Greek eleos are often translated as mercy.
What is the difference between mercy and grace?
Christians commonly say mercy withholds the penalty owed, and grace gives an unearned favour. The two often appear together.
What does at the mercy of mean?
It means completely in the power of someone or something, with no way to protect yourself. A ship in a storm is at the mercy of the waves.
Is mercy the same as forgiveness?
They are close. Forgiveness is letting go of anger toward someone who wronged you. Mercy is choosing not to punish them, or to treat them more gently than they deserve. You can show mercy before you fully forgive.
What is the opposite of mercy?
Cruelty, harshness and vengeance are common opposites. The adjective merciless describes someone or something that shows no mercy.