mercy

noun

1. 1

   leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice

   he threw himself on the mercy of the court

2. 2

   alleviation of distress; showing great kindness toward the distressed

   distributing food and clothing to the flood victims was an act of mercy

3. 3

   a disposition to be kind and forgiving

   in those days a wife had to depend on the mercifulness of her husband

4. 4

   the feeling that motivates compassion

5. 5

   something for which to be thankful

   it was a mercy we got out alive