lenient
adjective
le·nient
ˈlē-nē-ənt 
-nyənt
1
: of mild and tolerant disposition or effect : not harsh, severe, or strict
lenient laws
a lenient attitude
2
: exerting a soothing or easing influence : relieving pain or stress
leniently
adverb
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Examples of lenient in a Sentence
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
a teacher who is lenient with students who have misbehaved
Many people felt that the punishment was too lenient.
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
a teacher who is lenient with students who have misbehaved
Many people felt that the punishment was too lenient.
Recent Examples on the Web
And with Apple being more lenient with repairs, a secondary market could be bubbling to help overthrow some of the budget Android mainstays.
—Florence Ion / Gizmodo, Quartz, 16 Apr. 2024
But those have much more lenient penalties; indeed two of the other charges against Fischer have no jail time specified.
—Nina Totenberg, NPR, 16 Apr. 2024
But Japan's copyright laws are also quite favorable to OpenAI's business because they're considered much more lenient compared to other regions like the EU, which recently passed its AI Act that promises to uphold existing EU copyright laws.
—Kate Irwin, PCMAG, 15 Apr. 2024
Prosecutors also cut a deal with him: the promise of a more lenient sentence in exchange for information and cooperation.
—Christopher Kuo, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024
Congressional Republicans blasted the plea agreement as too lenient.
—Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2024
That’s still more lenient than before Prop. 47, when a second conviction would become a felony, but tougher than the elimination of consequences for repeat offenses, Totten said.
—John Woolfolk, The Mercury News, 8 Feb. 2024
Arguing that today’s borrowers need even more help, the Biden administration merged most of those plans into a single repayment option with more lenient terms.
—Collin Binkley, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
The problem, and the department’s supposedly lenient handling of such cases, has received scrutiny in the past by the Police Commission.
—Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Florence Ion / Gizmodo, Quartz, 16 Apr. 2024
But those have much more lenient penalties; indeed two of the other charges against Fischer have no jail time specified.
—Nina Totenberg, NPR, 16 Apr. 2024
But Japan's copyright laws are also quite favorable to OpenAI's business because they're considered much more lenient compared to other regions like the EU, which recently passed its AI Act that promises to uphold existing EU copyright laws.
—Kate Irwin, PCMAG, 15 Apr. 2024
Prosecutors also cut a deal with him: the promise of a more lenient sentence in exchange for information and cooperation.
—Christopher Kuo, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024
Congressional Republicans blasted the plea agreement as too lenient.
—Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2024
That’s still more lenient than before Prop. 47, when a second conviction would become a felony, but tougher than the elimination of consequences for repeat offenses, Totten said.
—John Woolfolk, The Mercury News, 8 Feb. 2024
Arguing that today’s borrowers need even more help, the Biden administration merged most of those plans into a single repayment option with more lenient terms.
—Collin Binkley, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
The problem, and the department’s supposedly lenient handling of such cases, has received scrutiny in the past by the Police Commission.
—Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lenient.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near lenient
Cite this Entry
“Lenient.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lenient. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
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