different between merciful vs indulgent

English

Etymology

From Middle English merciful, mercyful, equivalent to mercy +? -ful.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?m?s?fl?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?m??s?fl?/
• Hyphenation: mer?ci?ful

Adjective

merciful (comparative more merciful, superlative most merciful)

1. Showing mercy.
   • 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter I,

     The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence.

Synonyms

• ruthful

Antonyms

• merciless
• cruel

Derived terms

• mercifulness

Translations

Anagrams

• crimeful

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?d?ld??nt/
• Hyphenation: in?dul?gent

Adjective

indulgent (comparative more indulgent, superlative most indulgent)

1. Disposed or prone to indulge, humor, gratify, or yield to one's own or another's desires, etc., or to be compliant, lenient, or forbearing;

   • An indulgent playmate, Grannie would lay aside the long scratchy-looking letter she was writing (heavily crossed ‘to save notepaper’) and enter into the delightful pastime of ‘a chicken from Mr Whiteley's’.

Synonyms

• forbearing
• gentle
• lenient
• tolerant

Derived terms

• indulgential
• indulgently

Related terms

• indulge
• indulgement
• indulgence
• indulgency
• indulger
• indulgiate

Translations

References

• indulgent in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.dyl.???/

Etymology 1

From Latin indulg?ns.

Adjective

indulgent (feminine singular indulgente, masculine plural indulgents, feminine plural indulgentes)

1. lenient (tolerant; not strict)

Related terms

• indulgence
• indulger

Etymology 2

Verb

indulgent

1. third-person plural present indicative of indulger
2. third-person plural present subjunctive of indulger

Further reading

• “indulgent” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Latin

Verb

indulgent

1. third-person plural present active indicative of indulge?

Romanian

Etymology

From French indulgent, from Latin indulgens.

Adjective

indulgent m or n (feminine singular indulgent?, masculine plural indulgen?i, feminine and neuter plural indulgente)

1. indulgent

Declension