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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Botox effectively treats hyperhidrosis by blocking the nerve signals responsible for excessive sweating.—
Sarah Jividen,
Verywell Health,
27 May 2025
-
Alcohol and excessive speed were suspected of being involved in the crash, and charges are pending, but not expected to be filed for several weeks.—
Daniel I. Dorfman,
Chicago Tribune,
27 May 2025
Adjective
-
As with everything Banksy, siting and context are chief among the avenues of investigation into the man’s intent and into his his hilariously ruthless nocturnal execution of his art.—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
-
The ruthless, physical Panthers will get a strong Oilers squad, with Ekholm back on the back end, Skinner emphatically taking back his net from Calvin Pickard, and both McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on top of their games.—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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People who are staying with family members without a lease agreement, or who have inherited property informally, have long struggled to get federal help rebuilding after extreme weather, despite the fact that such families are less likely to have home insurance.—
Rebecca Hersher,
NPR,
5 June 2025
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In response, governments, NGOs, and the local people are striving to instill resilience into coastal communities, strengthen homes and infrastructure to better cope with extreme weather, and diversify incomes to mitigate the impact of a changing climate.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
5 June 2025
Adjective
-
The film is cold-bloodedly whimsical, asking the audience to root for a merciless man who endeavors, ever so incrementally, to understand some deeper human truths.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
6 June 2025
-
Unless stopped, Trump and the Republicans who follow him may go down as the most merciless and morally bankrupt leaders this country has ever produced.—
Tom Debley,
Mercury News,
4 June 2025
Adjective
-
Amanda learned in like 10 seconds, which is insane.—
Scott Roxborough,
The Hollywood Reporter,
24 Mar. 2025
-
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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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
-
Those numbers reported by authorities Tuesday reflect a steep increase from 2024, when cops answered just under 4,000 calls for service, made only 20 DUI arrests and reported no deaths from crashes over the three-day weekend.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
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
-
There was a giant dump truck of Destiny 2: Edge of Fate information out this past week due to a large-scale creator event that produced an infinite number of YouTube videos on aspects of the new expansion.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2025
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Here, the body is the frame, which holds the infinite gestural archives within movement, while highlighting the female form as both the subject and the lens; the image and the image-maker.—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unmerciful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unmerciful. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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