merciless

C2+ Topic:Describing People

US /ˈmɝsɪləs/ UK /ˈməːsɪləs/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
showing no mercy; cruel and relentless

The merciless heat drove the travelers to seek shade.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · showing no mercy; cruel and... ruthless pitiless cruel relentless remorseless heartlessunsparing

Opposites

merciful compassionate lenient clement

Word family

Derived forms mercilessly mercilessness

Related forms mercy merciful

Etymology

From mercy (from Old French merci 'pity', from Latin mercēs 'reward, favor') + -less, the native English suffix from Old English -lēas 'free from, without'.

merci xno -lēas Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives

# merciless

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈmɝsɪləs
**IPA (UK):** ˈməːsɪləs

## Meanings
1. showing no mercy; cruel and relentless

## Examples
- The merciless heat drove the travelers to seek shade.

## Synonyms
- ruthless
- pitiless
- cruel
- relentless
- remorseless
- heartless
- unsparing

## Antonyms
- merciful
- compassionate
- lenient
- clement

## Derived Forms
- mercilessly
- mercilessness

## Related Forms
- mercy
- merciful

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: merci
- Root: -lēas

## Etymology
From mercy (from Old French merci 'pity', from Latin mercēs 'reward, favor') + -less, the native English suffix from Old English -lēas 'free from, without'.

## AI Etymology
Merciless comes from mercy (from Old French merci 'pity', from Latin mercēs 'reward, favor') + -less, the native English suffix from Old English -lēas 'free from, without'. The etymological trail includes Old French merci, Old English -lēas. The same word family includes mercilessly, mercilessness, mercy, merciful. Its current adjective use means "showing no mercy; cruel and relentless".

## Topics
- Describing People
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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merciless

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