mercy

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. pity, leniency, forbearance, compassion.

- mercy killing

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [Willingness to spare others]

Syn. leniency, lenience, clemency, softheartedness, mildness, tenderness, lenity, charity, charitableness, compassion, gentleness, benevolence, benignancy, forbearance, toleration, forgiveness, kindness, quarter, humaneness, humanity, indulgence; see also kindness 1 , tolerance 1 .

Ant. intolerance, indifference*, cruelty.

2. [Compassionate assistance to those in distress]

Syn. compassion, commiseration, sympathy; see aid 1 , pity 1 .

• at the mercy of,

Syn. in the power of, vulnerable to, controlled by; see subject 1 .

Syn.- mercy implies compassion or forbearance, as in punishing offenders, in excess of what may be demanded by fairness, or it may connote kindness and sympathy to those in distress; clemency suggests a tendency toward mercy or leniency in one whose duty it is to punish offenders; lenity usually implies excessive mercy or mildness toward offenders where greater strictness might be preferable; charity , in this connection, implies a kindly understanding and tolerance in judging others

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

compassion, forgiveness, humanity, kindness, charity, sympathy, pity, lenience, clemency, softheartedness, quarter. ''Nobility's true badge.''—Shakespeare.

ANT.: cruelty, meanness, cold-bloodedness

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun Kind, forgiving, or compassionate treatment of or disposition toward others: charity, clemency, grace, lenience, leniency, lenity, mercifulness. See FORGIVENESS.