leniency

Also le·ni·ence

[lee-nee-uhn-see, leen-yuhn-]

noun

plural

leniencies 

1. the quality or state of being lenient.

2. a lenient act.

Word History and Origins

Origin of leniency¹

First recorded in 1770–80; leni(ent) + -ency

Example Sentences

Convicted rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs has written a letter to the judge overseeing his criminal trial, asking for leniency during his sentencing on Friday and blaming his past behaviour on drug addiction.

Read more on BBC

Campus groups, including pro-Israel faculty and students, have also accused police of leniency in enforcing masking policies.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Ms Westcarr added that the family would seek an urgent review of the sentence on the grounds of "undue leniency".

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The White House has been adamant that "no leniency is being given or discussed" in Maxwell's case.

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"Do you really think they will give any leniency to Pakistani nationals who are overstaying in the UK?"

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Related Words

• compassion 
• mercy 
• tolerance 

When To Use

What does leniency mean?

Leniency is the quality of being lenient—permissive or merciful, 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.A person, an action, or a policy can show or have the quality of leniency. The word is especially used in the context of punishments, especially official ones like prison sentences. In this case, it’s often used to imply that such a punishment is not severe enough in the opinion of the speaker.A less common variant of leniency is lenience.Example: In my opinion, they’ve shown far too much leniency with his punishment—I think he’s getting off too easy.