# mercy vs merely

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### mercy
*noun · IPA /ˈmɜːsi/ · frequency rank #4,691*
Relenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another.

### merely
*adverb · IPA /ˈmɪəli/ · frequency rank #3,828*
Without any other reason etc.; only, just, and nothing more.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mercy-vs-merely