lenient

[ lee-nee-uhnt, leen-yuhnt ]

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.

lenient

/ ˈliːnɪənt /

adjective

1. showing or characterized by mercy or tolerance
2. archaic.
   caressing or soothing

Derived Forms

• ˈleniency, noun
• ˈleniently, adverb

Other Words From

• leni·ent·ly adverb
• super·leni·ent adjective
• super·leni·ent·ly adverb
• un·leni·ent adjective
• un·leni·ent·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of lenient¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of lenient¹

C17: from Latin lēnīre to soothe, from lēnis soft

Example Sentences

The Jewish Week reported that sources said Hynes was expected to dispose of the case with a lenient plea deal.

From The Daily Beast

Caminero just sounds like a jerk, and his charge of criminal mischief almost too lenient.

From The Daily Beast

The New York Times and The  Guardian asked President Obama to be lenient on the leaker in two editorials Thursday.

From The Daily Beast

In other words, Berlusconi's trivialization of the Shoah and his lenient views regarding Mussolini are not uncommon.

From The Daily Beast

Pushing more lenient sentencing polices was not going to be the White House's priority straight out of the gate.

From The Daily Beast

Usually the teacher was very lenient with Mother Wit, for of all her pupils Laura gave her the least trouble.

From Project Gutenberg

Val once said he had been more sinned against than sinning: it may be deemed that in that opinion he was too lenient to himself.

From Project Gutenberg

A moiling, toiling man, who shows no mercy to himself, is only lenient to others by excess of reason.

From Project Gutenberg

The society into which he went was disposed to be exceedingly lenient to fashionable excesses.

From Project Gutenberg

Though he has the reputation of being severe, he is far more lenient with other people's children than his own.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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