Definition of "mercifully"

The whole Planet of the Apes set-up has been ripe for metaphor – from slavery and Afro-American revolution to European conquest of the Americas, even the war on terror. But mercifully, there's no big subtext being troweled on here.

2014 July 1, Steve Rose, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: a primate scream - first look review”, in The Guardian

The fruits of these kickstarted endeavors began to show in 1915, first in the deployment of a new range of depth charges. These were, mercifully, smaller than Jellicoe's "crushing hand of God" prototype, and, whilst practically just as lethal to submarines, they were significantly less risky to the launching ship, and could also be carried in larger numbers.

2019 July 24, Drachinifel, 11:06 from the start, in Anti-Sub Warfare in WW1 - From Hammers to Hunter-Killers‎, archived from the original on 24 November 2022