Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

merciful

/ˈmɝ.sɪ.fl̩/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.27 in modern English

Syllables: mer-ci-ful
IPA: /ˈmɝ.sɪ.fl̩/

15

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Example Sentences

"`Listen, Holly. Thou art a good and honest man, and I fain would spare thee; but, oh! it is so hard for woman to be merciful.'"
"The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence."

Etymology

From Middle English merciful, mercyful, equivalent to mercy + -ful. Displaced native Old English mildheort.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: merciful
Suffix: mercy

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈmɝ.sɪ.fl̩/
British English: /ˈmɜː.sɪ.fl̩/

Inflected Forms

more merciful (comparative) most merciful (superlative)

Derived Forms

mercifully mercifulness overmerciful unmerciful

Phrases

merciful heavens

Frequently Paired Words

compassionate empathetic forbearing pitying sympathetic tolerant

Synonyms

pitiful relentful ruthful clement lenient merciable mercied merciful safe

Antonyms

cruel merciless barbarous bowelless brutal compassionless flagitious demonic despiteful diabolic diabolical fell

Rhymes With

unmerciful pursifull

Questions

How do you pronounce merciful?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈmɝ.sɪ.fl̩/.
What does merciful mean?: Showing mercy.
Where does merciful come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce merciful

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “merciful”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈmɝ.sɪ.fl̩/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “merciful”.
Repeat and practice — Say “merciful” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.