This compound adjective describes those who show no mercy or compassion. Paul uses it in Romans 1:31 as the climactic vice in his catalog of human depravity apart from God. The term appears in classical writers to describe harsh or cruel behavior. The alpha-privative prefix negates 'mercy,' creating a word for deliberate hard-heartedness. Spanish renders it 'sin-misericordia' (without mercy), while French and German both employ their terms for 'pitiless' or 'unmerciful.' This is not mere absence but active refusal of compassion.