First Known Use: 1652
Dictionary
lenient
adjective le·nient \ˈlē-nē-ənt, -nyənt\
: allowing a lot of freedom and not punishing bad behavior in a strong way : not harsh, severe, or strict
Full Definition of LENIENT
1
: exerting a soothing or easing influence : relieving pain or stress
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Examples of LENIENT
- By giving one more person—the executive—the power to reduce (but not to increase) punishments, our constitutions (both Federal and state) seem to be sending an important message: that in a world in which errors are inevitable, it is better to err on the side of overly lenient, rather than overly harsh, punishment. —Alan M. Dershowitz, New York Times Book Review, 16 July 1989
- He could trust himself, he said … to be more lenient than perhaps his father had been to himself; his danger, he said … would be rather in the direction of being too indulgent … —Samuel Butler, The Way of All Flesh, 1903
- But in other points, as well as this, I was growing very lenient to my master: I was forgetting all his faults, for which I had once kept a sharp look-out. —Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1847
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Origin of LENIENT
Latin lenient-, leniens, present participle of lenire to soften, soothe, from lenis soft, mild; probably akin to Lithuanian lėnas tranquil — more at let
LENIENTLY Defined for Kids
lenient
adjective le·nient \ˈlē-nē-ənt, ˈlēn-yənt\
Definition of LENIENT for Kids
: being kind and patient : not strict <a lenient teacher>
— le·nient·ly adverb
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