mercy vs reprieve

mercy

verb
  • To feel mercy 

  • To show mercy; to pardon or treat leniently because of mercy 

intj
  • Expressing surprise or alarm. 

noun
  • Instances of forbearance or forgiveness. 

  • A blessing; something to be thankful for. 

  • Forgiveness or compassion, especially toward those less fortunate. 

  • Relenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another. 

  • A tendency toward forgiveness, pity, or compassion. 

  • A children's game in which two players stand opposite with hands grasped and twist each other's arms until one gives in. 

reprieve

verb
  • To bring relief to someone. 

  • To abandon or postpone plans to close, withdraw or abolish (something). 

  • To cancel or postpone the punishment of someone, especially an execution. 

noun
  • A document authorizing such an action. 

  • Relief from pain etc., especially temporary. 

  • A cancellation or postponement of a proposed event undesired by many. 

  • The cancellation or postponement of a punishment. 

How often have the words mercy and reprieve occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )