Definitions

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

  • noun The condition or quality of being lenient. synonym: mercy.
  • noun A lenient act.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The quality of being lenient; mildness; gentleness; lenity.
  • noun Synonyms Leniency, Lenity, Clemency, Mercy; humanity, tenderness, forbearance. Clemency is exercised only toward offenders, being especially the attribute of those in exalted places having power to remit or lighten penalty. Leniency, as a word, is much more common and expressive than lenity; leniency or lenity may be practised by any one having authority to lighten or remit penalty or to excuse from tasks: as, the leniency of a judge, a parent, or a teacher. Mercy has a twofold use, expressing clemency toward offenders or great kindness toward the distressed; in either sense it is a strong word.

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

  • noun The quality of mercy or forgiveness, especially in the assignment of punishment as in a court case.
  • noun An act of being lenient.

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

  • noun a disposition to yield to the wishes of someone
  • noun lightening a penalty or excusing from a chore by judges or parents or teachers
  • noun mercifulness as a consequence of being lenient or tolerant

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word leniency.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.