mercy killing
878
and killed all his prisoners. 2 [S] infml a fortunate event: It's a mercy the accident happened so close to the hospital. 3 at the mercy of powerless against: They were lost at sea, at the mercy of wind and weather. 4 leave to someone's (tender) mercies humor to give to the cruel control of: I'll teach him to ski myself, rather than leave him to the tender mercies of the skiing instructor. 5 be thankful for small mercies be grateful for what you have
'mercy killing n [C;U] EUTHANASIA
mere¹ /mɪər/ adj 1 [A no comp.] nothing more than (a); only (a): She lost the election by a mere 20 votes. | a mere child 2 the merest the smallest or most unimportant: The merest little thing makes him nervous.
mere² n 1 lit. a lake 2 (in comb., as part of a name) Lake Windermere
Mer-e-dith, George /'merǝdɪθ/ (1828-1909) a British writer whose works include the novel The Egoist and Poems and Lyrics of the Joy of Earth
mere-ly /'mɪəlɪl'mɪər-/ adv only; simply: I merely suggested you should do it again; there's no need to get annoyed. | She's merely a child.
mer-e-tri-cious /ˌmerǝ'trɪʃəs/ adj fml attractive on the surface, but false or of no real value: a meretricious argument —ly adv —ness n [U]
merge /mɜːdʒ'mɜrdʒ/ v [I;T(into, with)] to combine or cause (two or more things) to combine, especially gradually, so as to become a single thing: One colour merged into the other. | The two roads merge a mile ahead. | to merge two companies → see MIX (USAGE)
merg-er /'mɜːdʒǝr‖'mɜːr-/ n a joining together of two or more companies or firms
me-rid-i-an /mə'rɪdɪən/ n 1 [C] an imaginary line drawn from the top point of the Earth (NORTH POLE) to the bottom (SOUTH POLE) over the surface of the Earth, one of several used on maps to show position 2 [(the)S] fml or pomp the highest point of success
me-ringue /mə'ræŋ/ n [C;U] (a light round cake made of) a baked mixture of sugar and the white part of eggs
mer-it¹ /'merɪt/ n 1 [U] the quality of deserving praise, reward etc; personal worth: There's little merit in passing the test if you cheated. | They recognized her merit and promoted her. 2 [C] a good quality: One of her many merits is absolute reliability. | We must judge each plan on its (own) merits. (=by its own qualities, not by our opinions) | The committee are looking at the merits and demerits of the proposal. → compare DEMERIT
merit² v [T not in progressive forms] fml to deserve; have a right to: Your suggestion merits serious consideration.
mer-i-toc-ra-cy /ˌmer'tɒkrəsɪl-'tɑː-/ n 1 [C] a social system which gives the highest positions to those with the most ability 2 [the S+sing./pl. v] the people who rule in this kind of system
mer-i-to-ri-ous /ˌmerɪ'tɔːrɪəs/ adj fml deserving reward or praise —ly adv
Mer-lin /'mɜːlɪn‖'mɜːr-/ a MAGICIAN (=someone who has magic powers) in old stories about King Arthur → see also ARTHURIAN LEGEND
mer-maid /'mɜːmeɪd‖'mɜːr-/, mer-man /-mæn/ masc. — n (in stories) a creature with a woman's body from the head to the waist and a fish's tail instead of legs → see also LITTLE MERMAID
mermaid
Mer-man, Eth-el /'mɜːmæn‖'mɜːr-, 'eθəl/ (1909-84) a US singer and actress, known especially for her powerful voice and for singing There's No Business Like Show Business
mer-ri-ment /'merɪmənt/ n [U] laughter and (sounds of) fun and enjoyment: His strange new hairstyle was the cause of much merriment. (=made people laugh)
mer-ry /'merɪ/ adj 1 cheerful; full of lively happiness, fun etc: a merry fellow | a merry smile 2 causing laughter and fun: a merry prank 3 [F] BrE infml euph rather drunk: We got a bit merry at the party. 4 make merry infml lit to have fun, especially eating and drinking for enjoyment 5 Merry Christmas! Have a happy time at Christmas! 6 the more the merrier a phrase used when saying that the more people join in an activity, the more enjoyable it will be → see also eat, drink and be merry (EAT) —rily adv —riness n [U]
Merry En-gland, Merrie England /ˌmerɪ 'ɪŋglənd/ England in former times, before the period when industry developed and large cities grew up. People sometimes imagine that life at that time was pleasant and simple, with lots of singing, dancing, and enjoyment.
'merry-go,-round also roundabout BrE || carousel AmE — n a machine in an amusement park on which especially children can ride round and round sitting on model animals
mer-ry-mak-ing /'merɪˌmeɪkɪŋ/ n [U] lit fun and enjoyment, especially eating, drinking, dancing, and games: There was joy and merrymaking in the whole country when the king's son was born. —er n
Merry 'Men the followers of ROBIN HOOD, in old English stories: Robin Hood and his Merry Men
Merry 'Monarch, the a NICKNAME for the British King CHARLES II who was known for enjoying himself and having many lovers
Merry Wives of 'Windsor, The a humorous play by William SHAKESPEARE in which the character FALSTAFF appears
Mer-sey, the /'mɜːziː‖'mɜːr-/ a river in northwest England, which flows through Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside into the Irish Sea
CULTURAL NOTE For British people, the Mersey is usually connected with Liverpool, and the music of the BEATLES and other POP groups from Liverpool in the 1960s was known as the Mersey sound or the Mersey beat.
Mer-sey-side /'mɜːzɪsaɪd‖'mɜːr-/ an area in the northwest of England, which includes Liverpool. It used to be an important industrial centre with many DOCKS (=places where ships are loaded and unloaded), but these have nearly all closed now.
Mer-thi-o-late /'mɜːθɪəleɪt‖'mɜːr-/ AmE trademark a type of bright red liquid medicine formerly used on small cuts in the skin to prevent infection
Mer-ton, Paul /'mɜːtɒn‖'mɜːr-/ (1957-) a British COMEDIAN, known especially for appearing on the humorous television programmes Have I Got News For You and Room 101. His special style of humour involves making jokes while he is pretending to be serious or stupid, and he is known for his great ability to make funny jokes without preparing them first.
mes-ca-lin, -line /'meskəlɪn, -laɪn/ n [U] a drug which is obtained from a type of CACTUS plant and causes HALLUCINATIONS (=imaginary things seen that seem real)
Mes-dames /'meɪdəm‖meɪ'dɑːm/ plural of MADAME
Mes-de-moi-selles /ˌmeɪdəmwə'zel/ plural of MADEMOISELLE
mesh¹ /meʃ/ n [C;U] 1 (a piece of) material woven in a network with small holes between the threads: We put some wire mesh/a fine wire mesh over the chimney so that the birds wouldn't fall in. | The fish were caught in the meshes of the net. | (fig.) caught in a mesh of lies 2 the spaces of a certain size in a network: a net of fine (=small) mesh → see also MICROMESH 3 in mesh (of the teeth of GEARS) held together
mesh² v [I(with)] 1 (of the teeth of GEARS) to connect; be held together: The teeth on these two wheels mesh as the wheels revolve. 2 (of qualities, ideas etc) to fit together suitably: Their characters just don't mesh. | fast-food restaurants that don't really mesh with the atmosphere of old country towns
mes-mer-ism /'mezmərɪzəm/ n [U] old use for HYPNOTISM (from Franz Mesmer, an Austrian PHYSICIAN who developed the use of HYPNOTISM) —ist n
mes-mer-ize also -ise BrE /'mezməraɪz/ v [T] 1 to hold the complete attention of, especially so as to make speechless and unable to move; FASCINATE: We stood by the lake, mesmerized