lenient

American  

[lee-nee-uhnt, leen-yuhnt] / ˈli ni ənt, ˈlin yənt /

adjective

1. agreeably tolerant; permissive; indulgent.

   He tended to be lenient toward the children. More lenient laws encouraged greater freedom of expression.

2. Archaic. softening, soothing, or alleviative.

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lenient British  

/ ˈliːnɪənt /

adjective

1. showing or characterized by mercy or tolerance

2. archaic caressing or soothing

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Usage

What does lenient mean? Lenient means permissive or showing mercy, as opposed to strict or harsh.When you’re lenient with someone, you go easy on them. The word sometimes implies that maybe you’re going too easy, and should be more strict. On the other hand, if someone thinks a person is being too strict, such as when disciplining a child, they may tell them to be more lenient.The word can be used to describe a person, an action, or a policy. It is especially applied to things like punishments, such as prison sentences, that people think are not severe enough.The quality of being lenient is leniency.Example: In my opinion, the punishment is far too lenient—I think he’s getting off too easy.

Other Word Forms

• leniency noun
• leniently adverb
• superlenient adjective
• superleniently adverb
• unlenient adjective
• unleniently adverb

Etymology

Origin of lenient

First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin lēnient-, stem of lēniēns “softened,” present participle of lēnīre “to alleviate, soften, soothe,” derivative of lēnis lenis

Example Sentences

Companies are pursuing larger deals, with some seeing an opportunity in a more lenient antitrust environment.

From The Wall Street Journal

"Slap them with a small fine if you must but free the prisoners who clearly meant no harm. Be fair and lenient with people who genuinely support the UAE. Let it be over," she wrote.

From BBC

At one point, the judge even scolded the officers for being too lenient with her.

From The Wall Street Journal

Airlines might be more lenient when processing flight changes right now, but passengers shouldn’t expect a cash refund just because they were stuck at a security checkpoint.

From MarketWatch

He was named to once again take over the national-security council after his predecessor, Ali Shamkhani, was accused by paramilitary forces of being too lenient with protests that erupted in 2022.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• benign
• compassionate
• compliant
• forgiving
• indulgent
• sympathetic
• tolerant