merciless
/ˈmɝsɪləs/adjective
merciless is spelled M-E-R-C-I-L-E-S-S: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,462nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, merciless means “Showing no mercy; cruel and pitiless” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in merciless?
| Letters | 9: M-E-R-C-I-L-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,462nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is merciless?
Merciless appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,462nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce merciless?
- UK /ˈmɜːsɪləs/
- US /ˈmɝsɪləs/
Merciless has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-merciless.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of merciless
- more merciless comparative
- most merciless superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does merciless mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Showing no mercy; cruel and pitiless.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Merciless in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense showing no mercy; cruel and pitiless:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | impitoyable |
| German | gnadenlos |
| Portuguese | impiedoso, imisericordioso |
| Spanish | inmisericorde |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does merciless come from?
From Middle English merciles, mercyles, equivalent to mercy + -less.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).