mercy

«mercy» in Mova's school dictionary: kindness or forgiveness shown to someone you could punish… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (mercy, mercies)

meaning for a pupil

1) Mercy is kindness or forgiveness shown to someone you could punish or hurt. tree →

2) (church) Christians, Jews and Muslims believe God is full of mercy, forgiving people who turn back to him. tree →

3) A mercy is a lucky thing that you are thankful for: "It's a mercy nobody was hurt." tree →

4) "At the mercy of" means in the power of someone or something. tree →

5) "For mercy's sake" is an expression people use to beg someone urgently to stop or spare them. tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories a hero shows mercy to a beaten enemy; a cruel king shows none. In church services people pray "Lord, have mercy". In news, "a mercy mission" brings help to people in danger. Phrases: have mercy, show mercy, beg for mercy, at the mercy of, it's a mercy that, mercy me (old exclamation).

examples

• The king showed mercy and let the prisoner go. tree →
• "Lord, have mercy," prayed the people. tree →
• The little boat was at the mercy of the waves. tree →
• It's a mercy the rain stopped before the match. tree →
• The robber begged for mercy. tree →
• Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. tree →
• The helicopter flew a mercy mission to the island. tree →

note

Mostly uncountable; plural mercies in "small mercies" (things to be glad about). Adjective merciful, merciless. Mercy is not the same as justice: justice gives what is fair; mercy gives more kindness than is deserved.

In the corpora

• Many Christians believe God will judge everyone fairly and with mercy; beliefs about hell differ widely and are disputed.
• Taking is wrong, but people disagree about how much need and mercy should change the punishment (disputed).
• Christians believe in forgiveness, and that justice and mercy can work together.
• Vets suggest this when an animal is very ill or in pain and cannot get better; it is often called a mercy.
• Proverbs 28:13: "Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy."

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «mercy» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.