{
    "term": "mercy",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "c1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "a kind or forgiving attitude towards somebody that you have the power to harm or right to punish",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "to **ask/beg/plead for mercy**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "They **showed no mercy** to their hostages."
                },
                {
                    "text": "God **have mercy on** us."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The troops are on **a mercy mission** *(= a journey to help people)* in the war zone."
                },
                {
                    "text": "God's infinite mercy"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He asked for mercy for the crimes he had committed."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The prisoners begged for mercy."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The terrorists are completely without mercy."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There shall be no mercy for my enemies."
                }
            ],
            "synonyms": "humanity",
            "topics": ["Personal qualities"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["divine", "infinite", "great"],
                "verb + mercy": ["ask for", "beg for", "plead for"],
                "mercy + noun": ["dash", "mission", "killing"],
                "preposition": ["at the mercy of", "without mercy", "mercy for"],
                "phrases": [
                    "be grateful for small mercies",
                    "be thankful for small mercies"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "an event or a situation to be grateful for, usually because it stops something unpleasant",
            "sensetop": "It is a mercy (that)…",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "It's a mercy she wasn't seriously hurt.",
                    "contextForm": "It is a mercy (that)…"
                },
                {
                    "text": "His death was a mercy *(= because he was in great pain)*."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "not able to stop somebody/something harming you because they have power or control over you",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I'm not going to put myself at the mercy of the bank."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We were at the mercy of the weather."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to be happy that a situation that is bad is not as bad as it could have been",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Well, at least you weren't hurt. I suppose we should be grateful for small mercies."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to leave somebody/something in a situation that may cause them to suffer or to be treated badly",
            "labels": "(humorous)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "privatized companies left to the mercy of market forces"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I’ll leave you to the tender mercies of these ladies!"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to put yourself in a situation where you must rely on somebody to be kind to you and not harm or punish you",
            "labels": "(formal)",
            "examples": []
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈmɜːsi/",
                "audio": "me/mercy/mercy__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈmɜːrsi/",
                "audio": "me/mercy/mercy__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Middle English: from Old French merci ‘pity’ or ‘thanks’, from Latin merces, merced- ‘reward’, in Christian Latin ‘pity, favour, heavenly reward’."
}