sans merci

\sɑ̃ mɛʁ.si\

/\sɑ̃ mɛʁ.si\/ adj

The verdict

“sans merci” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sans la volonté d’épargner.

Corpus desk

Index FR-sans-merci · sans merci · French

sans merci · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for sans merci
PropertyValue
Headwordsans merci
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\sɑ̃ mɛʁ.si\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « sans merci » en français

sans mercireste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sans merci is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \sɑ̃ mɛʁ.si\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Sans la volonté d’épargner.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for sans merci in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is sans merci, spelled S-A-N-S- -M-E-R-C-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sans la volonté d’épargner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how sans merci appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Mordu bientôt par le désir de jouer un rôle, il détermina un libraire, un rival de Vuillet, à fonder un journal démocratique, dont il devint un des rédacteurs les plus âpres. L’Indépendant fit, sous son impulsion, une guerre sans merci aux réactionnaires.
  2. Mais le Bureau de Santé était implacable et livrait sans merci aux autorités administratives et judiciaires ceux qui débarquaient clandestinement, avec la complicité des terriens, des marchandises suspectes.

Synonyms

impitoyablesans pitié

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sans merci"?
"sans merci" is spelled S-A-N-S- -M-E-R-C-I. The IPA pronunciation is \sɑ̃ mɛʁ.si\.
What does "sans merci" mean?
As an adjective, "sans merci" means: Sans la volonté d’épargner.
How do you pronounce "sans merci"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sans merci" is \sɑ̃ mɛʁ.si\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sans merci" come from?
"sans merci" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list