1
as in excessive
going beyond a normal or acceptable limit in degree or amount
she went into an unmerciful level of detail about her latest health problems
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2
as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
the critics were unmerciful in their assessments of the young actress's performance
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Recent Examples of unmerciful
The result was unmerciful but gloriously funny, especially when Christine Baranski‘s liberal Diane Lockhart hallucinated news reports about Trump keeping a potbellied pig in the White House map room.
—
Lynette Rice, Deadline, 20 May 2025
The drought is a source of mockery towards RCB, with opposition fans unmerciful in their scorn towards them and particularly Kohli.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
Yet viewers admire Oz’s aptitude to survive, his unmerciful resolve.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 26 Dec. 2024
His take on Prince Philip is both humanizing and unmerciful, cutting to the bone of a man portrayed in contradictory terms — petulant yet statesmanlike, intensely ambitious yet ineffectual, relatable one minute and contemptible the next.
—Will Harris, EW.com, 30 July 2024
The temperature climbed as more gas pushed and compressed itself into the small space, and the heat became unmerciful, exacerbated by the syrupy sensation of the increasingly dense atmosphere.
—Rachel Lance, WIRED, 16 Apr. 2024
In Nazi ideology, descent was destiny—inescapable, unmerciful, and total.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 20 July 2023
What hit viewers, then and now, with the strength of an unmerciful iceberg is how entirely uncynical this movie is.
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 15 Dec. 2022
How have Willis and Kastor excelled for 20 years and more in that unmerciful context?
—Roger Robinson, Outside Online, 18 Feb. 2021
Lynette Rice, Deadline, 20 May 2025
The drought is a source of mockery towards RCB, with opposition fans unmerciful in their scorn towards them and particularly Kohli.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
Yet viewers admire Oz’s aptitude to survive, his unmerciful resolve.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 26 Dec. 2024
His take on Prince Philip is both humanizing and unmerciful, cutting to the bone of a man portrayed in contradictory terms — petulant yet statesmanlike, intensely ambitious yet ineffectual, relatable one minute and contemptible the next.
—Will Harris, EW.com, 30 July 2024
The temperature climbed as more gas pushed and compressed itself into the small space, and the heat became unmerciful, exacerbated by the syrupy sensation of the increasingly dense atmosphere.
—Rachel Lance, WIRED, 16 Apr. 2024
In Nazi ideology, descent was destiny—inescapable, unmerciful, and total.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 20 July 2023
What hit viewers, then and now, with the strength of an unmerciful iceberg is how entirely uncynical this movie is.
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 15 Dec. 2022
How have Willis and Kastor excelled for 20 years and more in that unmerciful context?
—Roger Robinson, Outside Online, 18 Feb. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unmerciful
Adjective
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Manson warns, however, that excessive amounts of vitamin D can lead to a higher calcium level in blood and urine, and some calcification may occur in the blood vessels and in the soft tissue.—
Tom Gavin,
EverydayHealth.com,
27 May 2025
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The excessive heat watch will be in effect from 11 a.m. Friday, May 30, through 11 p.m. Saturday, May 31, according to the National Weather Service.—
Angela Rodriguez,
Sacbee.com,
27 May 2025
Adjective
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Wes Anderson is talking about a surreal moment that occurs early in his latest film, The Phoenician Scheme, in which the protagonist, the ruthless international tycoon Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro), experiences a vision of the afterlife.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
18 May 2025
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The exception nearly arrives in the closing minutes during a high-stakes scene that had the potential to transform the whole film into a ruthless satire.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
16 May 2025
Adjective
-
Hazards differ according to geography, but include flooding, wildfires, extreme heat, storm surges, and other severe weather events.—
Claire Poole,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
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As a result, military training installations have had to adapt their training schedules to avoid the hottest times of day to mitigate the health risks associated with extreme heat.—
Bella Kubach,
The Orlando Sentinel,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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The Heat’s roller-coaster season has come to a merciless end.—
Jared Weiss,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
-
This time, his assignment takes him to Serbia, as he is tasked with assassinating the merciless General Mile Valstoria (Peter Linka).—
Christopher Rudolph,
People.com,
10 May 2025
Adjective
-
Amanda learned in like 10 seconds, which is insane.—
Scott Roxborough,
The Hollywood Reporter,
24 Mar. 2025
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The emu egg—a two pound, eight-inch ovoid with a sultry teal shell gently speckled in pale green—seemed like just the right absurdist final flourish for an already insane endeavor.—
Helen Rosner,
The New Yorker,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The retail price for an unlocked model is steep, but a $300 discount makes that much more manageable.—
& John Mihaly,
PC Magazine,
27 May 2025
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Talks with China, which imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on the U.S., are ongoing after both countries agreed to lower steep tariffs.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
27 May 2025
Adjective
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The aircraft so extravagant, it’s been called the flying palace.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 May 2025
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Next week, a coterie of crypto investors will share an extravagant dinner with US president Donald Trump at his golf club in Washington, DC.—
Joel Khalili,
Wired News,
16 May 2025
Adjective
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Since then, thanks to an infinite loop of cable airings, The Shawshank Redemption has snowballed into the ultimate male weepie — a nakedly sentimental drama that guys can choke up watching and not feel guilty about afterward.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
23 May 2025
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The station is a few miles away but feels unreachable with no roads and infinite destruction to cross.—
Jennifer Berry Hawes,
ProPublica,
19 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unmerciful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unmerciful. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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