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Blessing vs Merciful - What's the difference?

blessing | merciful |

As a noun blessing

is some kind of divine or supernatural aid, or reward.

As an adjective merciful is

showing mercy.

blessing

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • Some kind of divine or supernatural aid, or reward.
  • A pronouncement invoking divine aid.
  • *, chapter=5
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly, […], down the nave to the western door. […] At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer.}}
  • Good fortune.
  • (paganism) A modern pagan ceremony.
  • The act of declaring or bestowing favor; approval.
  • A thing one is glad of.
  • A prayer before a meal; grace.
  • A group of unicorns.
  • * 2008 , Betsy Schiffman, " Time To Trash the Intellectual Property System, Says Report", Wired , 11 September 2008:
    • And since we’re laying out our wishes, we’d also like a blessing of unicorns and one million dollars.
  • * 2009 , Andrew Orlowski, " Facebook music dashboard: Revenue at last?", The Register , 13 September 2011:
    • Then a blessing of unicorns charged into the studio, and I was carried away to be re-educated.
  • * 2011 , Suzette Mayr, Monoceros , Coach House Books (2011), ISBN 9781552452417, page 94:
    • She just wants to talk to her friends on www.unicornwillsaveus.com or write in her journal or flump on her bedroom floor with her blessing of unicorns: her posters, figurines, stickers, temporary tattoos of anatomically correct unicorns.

    Antonyms

    * curse

    Derived terms

    * blessing in disguise * count one's blessings * mixed blessing

    Anagrams

    * English collective nouns

    merciful

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • showing mercy
  • * 1900', , 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.

    Antonyms

    * merciless * cruel

    Anagrams

    *