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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unmerciful
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
Trying to end an unmerciful beating, Astudillo haplessly threw three pitches to Mercedes that were all called balls (and that averaged about 45 mph).
—Scott Jennings, CNN, 20 May 2021
Reaction to the couple's decision was swift and unmerciful.
—Danielle Campoamor, refinery29.com, 7 May 2021
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
Trying to end an unmerciful beating, Astudillo haplessly threw three pitches to Mercedes that were all called balls (and that averaged about 45 mph).
—Scott Jennings, CNN, 20 May 2021
Reaction to the couple's decision was swift and unmerciful.
—Danielle Campoamor, refinery29.com, 7 May 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unmerciful
Adjective
-
Those not able to cash in, however, see the program as one of two things: a genuine offer hamstrung by excessive red tape, or a half-hollow gesture meant to rack up free PR in the midst of a historic disaster.—
Jack Flemming,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2025
-
Progressive reformers viewed this as a modern evil just like unsafe working conditions and the excessive power of trusts.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
28 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
They are expected to manage the roster with a little more thought paid to player welfare and a little less thought paid to marginal gains and ruthless efficiency.—
Andrew Baggarly,
The Athletic,
30 Jan. 2025
-
Since the regime fell, the evidence of a ruthless police state has grown overwhelming.—
Ian Crouch,
The New Yorker,
28 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Even as Arrowhead was becoming an NFL icon and fans were animating the scene with such feats as a 156-game sellout streak, extreme tailgating and reclaiming in 2014 the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd roar (142.2 decibels) at a sports stadium, the Arrowhead mystique, alas, was a myth.—
Vahe Gregorian,
Kansas City Star,
24 Jan. 2025
-
Both fires occurred during extreme Santa Ana winds that gusted more than 80 mph, a strength characteristic of hurricanes, which created what officials have called a firestorm.—
Phil Helsel,
NBC News,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
The funniest movie ever made about the experience of being snubbed for an Oscar nomination, For Your Consideration found Christopher Guest and company moving away from their patented mockumentary format for this hilarious and merciless satire.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
22 Jan. 2025
-
But some part of her yearns to be merciless—to make all these women confess.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harper's Magazine,
2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Your voice is insane.—
Mary Colurso | mcolurso@al.com,
al,
4 Apr. 2023
-
But obviously winning the grand jury prize was insane.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
31 Mar. 2023
Adjective
-
One helicopter, the Guardian 1, used heat sensors to identify the group of three men who had become stranded with injuries on a steep section of the mountain crowded by tall trees.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2025
-
This pick is also available in four other colors and a variety of smaller and larger sizes, but the oatmeal hue offers the steepest discount.—
Maggie Horton,
People.com,
27 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Archaeologists found the artwork in the floor of an extravagant mansion in Pompeii known as the House of the Faun in 1831.—
Sonja Anderson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
22 Jan. 2025
-
Top 3 Can't Miss Known for its extravagant events featuring LGBTQ+ icons, Nemacolin is a resort to experience at least once.—
Jared Ranahan,
Travel + Leisure,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
On the flip side your potential losses are basically infinite if the stock keeps going up.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN,
17 Jan. 2025
-
Yet even in this case, heuristic arguments suggest an infinite number of such prime numbers exist.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
17 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near unmerciful
Cite this Entry
“Unmerciful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unmerciful. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
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