Dictionary

mercilessly en · ADV

Pronunciation

• /ˈmɜːsɪləslɪ/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree English merciless Middle English -ly English -ly English mercilessly From merciless + -ly.

Meanings

1. In a merciless manner.
   • Therefore he whacked the old nigger mercilessly, while a big crowd of his people watched him, thunderstruck[.] 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 198:
   • Uncanny clips of him “mogging” other men — that is, standing next to them and making them look common by comparison — and mercilessly appraising women’s looks have gone viral on TikTok and Instagram. 2026 February 13, Joseph Bernstein, “Handsome at Any Cost”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 14 Feb 2026:
   • She mercilessly read off the list of his wrongs in front of their friends.

Forms

Translations (19)

cs nemilosrdně (in a merciless manner) · ca despietadament (in a merciless manner) · fi armotta (in a merciless manner) · fr sans pitié (in a merciless manner) · tr zalimce (in a merciless manner) · sv skoningslöst (in a merciless manner) · az amansızcasına (in a merciless manner) · pl bezpardonowo (in a merciless manner) · tr zalimane (in a merciless manner) · fi armottomasti (in a merciless manner) · tr acımasızca (in a merciless manner) · grc ἀνελεημόνως (in a merciless manner) · pt impiedosamente (in a merciless manner) · pl bezlitośnie (in a merciless manner) · es despiadadamente (in a merciless manner) · eo senkompate (in a merciless manner) · tr zalimcesine (in a merciless manner) · az amansızlıqla (in a merciless manner) · tr acımasızcasına (in a merciless manner)