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• Lenten
  Lenten

  adjective

  of, relating to, or suitable for Lent.
• lenten
  lenten

  adjective

  (often capital) of or relating to Lent

Lenten

American  

[len-tn] / ˈlɛn tn /

Or lenten

adjective

1. of, relating to, or suitable for Lent.

2. suggesting Lent, as in austerity, frugality, or rigorousness; meager.

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lenten British  

/ ˈlɛntən /

adjective

1. (often capital) of or relating to Lent

2. archaic spare, plain, or meagre

   lenten fare

3. archaic cold, austere, or sombre

   a lenten lover

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Etymology

Origin of Lenten

First recorded before 900; Middle English lente(n) “spring, springtime, Lent,” noun use of Old English noun and adjective lengten, læncgten, lencten “spring, springtime, Lent; of springtime, Lenten”; later taken as an adjective ending in -en; see origin at Lent, -en ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Lenten lenten

This insight reminds me of a Lenten devotional piece by Jesuit Rick Ganz, who discloses what motivates repentance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

It also marks the beginning of the penitential Lenten season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2024

"We should all continue praying for our Pope Francis this Lenten season. Let us include him in our prayers, as we pray for our loved ones who are sick," parish priest Reynante Tolentino said.

From Reuters ● Apr. 2, 2023

I had stumbled onto a family's Lenten fish fry.

From Salon ● Apr. 1, 2023

My faith was buttressed by a book by Jacques Maritain rather than by the experience of worship at a Lenten service with classmates or serving at some old lady’s funeral.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

In the 12th and 13th centuries, spring was called lent or lenten, while fall was called harvest.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2018

As it happens, I was already on my annual lenten social media sabbatical when The Cambridge Analytica news broke.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2018

Last week he preached a lenten sermon at St. Stephen's Church at loth and Chestnut Sts.,

From Time Magazine Archive

"There is Simon the Deacon hath pulse in store, With beans and lettuces fair to see: His lenten fare now let me share, I pray thee, Lord Abbot, in charitie!"

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 4 by Hamilton Wright Mabie

A lenten fast, or a penance of parched peas in his shoes, would be a mere bagatelle to him.

From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 15, August, 1851 by Various