Hypertext Webster Gateway: "mercifulness"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Merciful \Mer"ci*ful\, a. [Mercy + -ful.]
1. Full of mercy; having or exercising mercy; disposed to
pity and spare offenders; unwilling to punish.
The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious. --Ex.
xxxiv. 6.
Be merciful, great duke, to men of mold. --Shak.
2. Unwilling to give pain; compassionate.
A merciful man will be merciful to his beast. --Old
Proverb.
Syn: Compassionate; tender; humane; gracious; kind; mild;
clement; benignant. -- {Mer"ci*ful*ly}, adv. --
{Mer"ci*ful*ness}, n.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
mercifulness
n 1: the feeling that motivates compassion [syn: {mercy}]
2: a disposition to be kind and forgiving; "in those days a
wife had to depend on the mercifulness of her husband"
[syn: {mercy}] [ant: {mercilessness}]
3: leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person
or agency charged with administering justice; "he threw
himself on the mercy of the court" [syn: {clemency}, {mercy}]
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