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leniency definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: mercifulness as a consequence of being lenient or tolerant [syn: lenience, leniency, mildness, lenity]
2: a disposition to yield to the wishes of someone; "too much indulgence spoils a child" [syn: indulgence, lenience, leniency]
3: lightening a penalty or excusing from a chore by judges or parents or teachers [syn: lenience, leniency]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -cies) Date: 1753 1. the quality or state of being lenient 2. a lenient disposition or practice Synonyms: see mercy

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lenience Le"ni*ence (l[=e]"n[i^]*ens or l[=e]n"yens; 106), Leniency Le"ni*en*cy (l[=e]"n[i^]*en*s[y^] or l[=e]n"yen*s[y^]), n. The quality or state of being lenient; lenity; clemency.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Leniency is a lenient attitude or lenient behaviour. The judge rejected pleas for leniency and sentenced him to six months in prison... N-UNCOUNT: oft N to/towards n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. See lenience

Moby Thesaurus

abatement, acceptance, accommodatingness, agreeableness, allayment, alleviation, assuagement, attentiveness, benevolence, blunting, calming, carelessness, charitableness, charity, clemency, commiseration, compassion, complaisance, concern, condolence, condonation, considerateness, consideration, damping, deadening, delicacy, demulsion, diminution, downiness, dulcification, dulling, easiness, easing, easygoingness, endurance, falling-off, favor, featheriness, feeling, flossiness, fluffiness, forbearance, forbearing, forbearingness, forgiveness, fortitude, generousness, gentleness, grace, heedfulness, helpfulness, humanity, hushing, impotence, imprecision, indifference, indulgence, insolidity, kindness, laxity, laxness, lenience, lenity, lessening, letdown, letup, lightening, long-sufferance, long-suffering, longanimity, looseness, loosening, lulling, magnanimity, mellowness, mercifulness, mercy, mindfulness, mitigation, modulation, mollification, morbidezza, negligence, nonresistiveness, nonrigidity, obligingness, overindulgence, overpermissiveness, pacification, palliation, pardon, pathos, patience, patience of Job, patientness, permissiveness, perseverance, pity, plushiness, pulpiness, quarter, quietening, quieting, reduction, regard, regardfulness, relaxation, relaxedness, relief, remission, remissness, reprieve, ruth, satininess, self-control, self-pity, silkiness, slackening, slackness, sloppiness, softening, softness, solicitousness, solicitude, soothing, sponginess, stoicism, subduement, sufferance, sweet reasonableness, sympathy, tact, tactfulness, tempering, tenderness, thought, thoughtfulness, tolerance, toleration, tranquilization, unrestraint, unsolidity, velvetiness, waiting game, waiting it out, weakness