- [uncountable]
a kind or forgiving attitude towards somebody that you have the power to harm or right to punish 仁慈；宽恕 to ask/beg/plead for mercy 请求／乞求／祈求宽恕 They showed no mercy to their hostages. 他们对人质丝毫不讲仁慈。 God have mercy on us. 上帝怜悯我们吧。 The troops are on a mercy mission (= a journey to help people) in the war zone. 部队出发救助战地民众。
Extra ExamplesTopics Personal qualitiesc1God's infinite mercy 上帝无限的恩惠 He asked for mercy for the crimes he had committed. 他请求对他所犯的罪行给予宽恕。 The prisoners begged for mercy. 囚犯们恳求宽恕。 The terrorists are completely without mercy. 那些恐怖分子全无仁慈之心。 There shall be no mercy for my enemies. 对我的敌人不会有任何慈悲。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- divine
- infinite
- great
- …
- ask for
- beg for
- plead for
- …
- dash
- mission
- killing
- …
- at the mercy of
- without mercy
- mercy for
- …
- be grateful for small mercies
- be thankful for small mercies
- [countable, usually singular] (informal)
an event or a situation to be grateful for, usually because it stops something unpleasant 幸运；恩惠 - It is a mercy (that)…
It's a mercy she wasn't seriously hurt. 幸运的是她伤势不重。 His death was a mercy (= because he was in great pain). 他的死是一大幸事。
see also merciful, merciless - It is a mercy (that)…
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French merci ‘pity’ or ‘thanks’, from Latin merces, merced- ‘reward’, in Christian Latin ‘pity, favour, heavenly reward’.
Idioms
at the mercy of somebody/something
be grateful/thankful for small mercies
leave somebody/something to the mercy/mercies of somebody/something
to leave somebody/something in a situation that may cause them to suffer or to be treated badly 听任某人可能受苦或受到虐待（而无能为力） privatized companies left to the mercy of market forces 受市场力量支配的私有化公司 - (humorous)
I’ll leave you to the tender mercies of these ladies! 我将把你留给这些女士们温柔的怜悯！
throw yourself on somebody’s mercy
- (formal)
to put yourself in a situation where you must rely on somebody to be kind to you and not harm or punish you 指望某人能够善待（或宽恕）自己