Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The condition or quality of being lenient. synonym: mercy.
- noun A lenient act.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The quality of being lenient; mildness; gentleness; lenity.
- noun Synonyms Leniency, Lenity, Clemency, Mercy; humanity, tenderness, forbearance. Clemency is exercised only toward offenders, being especially the attribute of those in exalted places having power to remit or lighten penalty. Leniency, as a word, is much more common and expressive than lenity; leniency or lenity may be practised by any one having authority to lighten or remit penalty or to excuse from tasks: as, the leniency of a judge, a parent, or a teacher. Mercy has a twofold use, expressing clemency toward offenders or great kindness toward the distressed; in either sense it is a strong word.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The quality of
mercy orforgiveness , especially in the assignment of punishment as in a court case. - noun An act of being
lenient .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a disposition to yield to the wishes of someone
- noun lightening a penalty or excusing from a chore by judges or parents or teachers
- noun mercifulness as a consequence of being lenient or tolerant
Etymologies
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Examples
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Appealing against what they called the leniency of the punishment, prosecutors are to now seek that Zana be re-tried on the grounds that she should have been given prison sentences of five years for each of the nine speeches she had made.
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But occasionally a situation arises where leniency is required, depending on the context of the case, and a judge may impose a shorter or lighter sentence.
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If leniency is to be applied to sit the delegates, whoever violated these rules by leaving their names on ballot ... the ratio should be for violators 1/3 to 2/3 votes for non violators.
Democrats' late night session falls short on MI, FL delegations 2008
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They are so long-suffering that we are going to lose patience with them; we are going to accuse them of cowardice; the Irish people believe they are cowards; their very leniency is put down to cowardice.
The Irish Problem 1920
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Hey Eugene, I think given our current troll’s moniker, a little leniency is allowed.
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He tries to use her death and his ex-wife’s disappearance to make a bid for custody of his kids … this all being a ploy to get leniency from the feds for his crooked lobbying and keep him out of prison.
Rant (with spoilers) Steve Martini's "Undue Influence" deep_bluze 2005
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Contributing to their leniency was the fact that Mr. Sabo had gone out of his way to avoid any risk of harm to any human, and surrendered peacefully to the first officers on scene.
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There was no gratitude for any so-called leniency of the North, no repentance for the war, no desire for humiliation, for sackcloth and ashes, and no confession of wrong.
The Sequel of Appomattox : a chronicle of the reunion of the states Walter Lynwood Fleming 1903
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"The leniency has been the reason why this government is emboldened."
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Still, his leniency is a far cry from the bravado he displayed in the months leading up to his final act as pay czar.
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