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.

The Premier League has a more lenient approach to handball, understanding the natural movements of players, but the VAR review should have been accepted.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

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

City Council moved to adopt relatively lenient “Zone Zero” laws for homes in fire danger zones, measures that do not align with the plans that state agencies are working to enact.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2026

Several Commerce Department inspector-general reports have criticized FirstNet Authority for holding AT&T to lenient network standards.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

“Forget about a job,” she said, which was very lenient of her.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

Vocabulary lists containing lenient

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