lenient

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

ADJECTIVE

permissive

Synonyms

STRONGEST

benign compassionate compliant forgiving indulgent sympathetic tolerant

WEAK

allowing amiable assuaging assuasive being big benignant charitable clement complaisant condoning easy easygoing emollient excusing favoring forbearing gentle going easy on good-natured humoring kind kindly letting live with loving merciful mild mollycoddling obliging pampering pardoning permitting soft soft-shell softhearted sparing spoiling tender yielding

Antonyms

STRONGEST

hateful merciless

WEAK

hard intolerant limiting restrictive rigorous severe

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Last week, a judge in Moscow added two more years to the sentence, after ruling Davies' initial jail term was too lenient.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

She appealed the verdict in the hope of clearing her name, while prosecutors also did so arguing that the sentence was too lenient and the acquittals were wrongful.

From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026

But recently, prosecutors dropped charges against a third of the officers and are offering lenient plea deals to several others.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

After each session, Santicl6 is supposed to collect them, but he’s pretty lenient with us.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

Vocabulary lists containing lenient

List 3

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