“The judge showed mercy by reducing the sentence.”
Usage Entry 1425 / 1605 60-second read
Mercy vs. Clemency
Compassion towards someone versus formal leniency from authority.
The comparisoni
“The judge showed clemency by reducing the sentence — CLEMENCY is the formal-authority version of mercy. Both work; clemency is the legal-register choice.”
The ruleii
¶
MERCY = personal. CLEMENCY = official.
MERCY is broad — compassion shown by anyone. CLEMENCY is mercy from authority — judges, governors, presidents. Pardons and commutations are forms of clemency.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
Clemency = mercy with authority.