indulgence

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The action or an instance of indulging.
• noun The state of being indulgent; tolerance.
• noun Something indulged in.
• noun Self-indulgence.
• noun An extension of time for the payment of a debt or the performance of a duty.
• noun Roman Catholic Church The remission of punishment still due, especially in purgatory, for a sin that has been sacramentally absolved.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The act of indulging; forbearance of restraint or control; gratification of desire or humor; also, the character of being indulgent.
• noun Something with which one is indulged or gratified; a favor granted; an act of grace.
• noun In com., forbearance of present payment; an extension, through favor, of the time in which a debt can be paid: as, to grant an indulgence of three months on a note.
• noun In Roman Catholic theology: Remission of sins: used in this sense by the earlier ecclesiastical writers.
• noun A remission of the punishment which is still due to sin after sacramental absolution, this remission being valid in the court of conscience and before God, and being made by an application of the treasure of the church on the part of a lawful superior. Eusebius Amort, History of Indulgences, quoted in Cath. Dict.
• noun Relaxation of an ecclesiastical law, or exemption of a particular individual from its provisions: properly called dispensation.
• noun In Scottish history, in the reigns of Charles II. and James II., permission to hold religious services.
• noun A proclamation by Charles II. In 1671 or 1672, promising the suspension of penal laws relating to ecclesiastical matters which were directed against nonconformists. It was rejected by Parliament.
• noun A proclamation by James II. in 1687, annulling penal laws against Roman Catholics and nonconformists, and abolishing religious tests for office. The refusal to read this declaration by several prelates led to their trial, and was one of the causes of the revolution of 1688.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb To grant an indulgence to.
• noun The act of indulging or humoring; the quality of being indulgent; forbearance of restrain or control.
• noun An indulgent act; favor granted; gratification.
• noun (R. C. Ch.) Remission of the temporal punishment due to sins, after the guilt of sin has been remitted by sincere repentance; absolution from the censures and public penances of the church. It is a payment of the debt of justice to God by the application of the merits of Christ and his saints to the contrite soul through the church. It is therefore believed to diminish or destroy for sins the punishment of purgatory.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun the act of indulging
• noun tolerance
• noun catering to someone's every desire
• noun something in which someone indulges
• noun Roman Catholicism A pardon or release from the expectation of punishment in purgatory, after the sinner has been granted absolution.
• verb transitive (Roman Catholic Church) to provide with an indulgence

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun an inability to resist the gratification of whims and desires
• noun a disposition to yield to the wishes of someone
• noun the remission by the pope of the temporal punishment in purgatory that is still due for sins even after absolution
• noun the act of indulging or gratifying a desire
• noun foolish or senseless behavior