mercilessly
adverb
Simple meaning
In a way that shows no kindness or sympathy.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
mursuhluhsleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmɝsələsli
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adverb
Without pity; in a merciless manner
“He was mercilessly trounced by his opponent in the House.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: Without pity; in a merciless manner
Used this way, mercilessly is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in technical or specialist writing contexts.
“He was mercilessly trounced by his opponent in the House.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use mercilessly
- “He was mercilessly trounced by his opponent in the House.”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Having or showing no mercy.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.