Synonyms of lenience

lenience

noun

ˈlē-nyən(t)s 

as in mercy

kind, gentle, or compassionate treatment especially towards someone who is undeserving of it

a judge's reputation for lenience towards first-time criminals

Synonyms & Similar Words

• mercy
• mercifulness
• leniency
• empathy
• sympathy
• clemency
• compassion
• forbearance
• kindness
• grace
• lenity
• charity
• tenderness
• quarter
• pity
• goodness
• generosity
• understanding
• affection
• love
• humanitarianism
• gentleness
• softness
• goodwill
• philanthropy
• magnanimity
• meekness
• benevolence
• favor
• altruism
• worship
• nobility
• devotion
• kindliness
• humaneness
• mildness
• care
• niceness
• commiseration

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• revenge
• punishment
• retribution
• vengeance
• ruthlessness
• retaliation
• cruelty
• violence
• vindictiveness
• discipline
• brutality
• reprisal
• virulence
• sadism
• savagery
• barbarity
• mercilessness
• scolding
• hatred
• venom
• requital
• spite
• viciousness
• chastisement
• vitriol
• castigation
• savageness
• uncharitableness
• wantonness
• truculence
• pitilessness
• atrocity
• hostility
• malice
• abhorrence
• hate
• hard-heartedness
• malevolence
• loathing
• jealousy
• meanness
• animosity
• antagonism
• detestation
• resentment
• enmity
• malignancy
• abomination
• antipathy
• malignity
• maliciousness
• spleen
• bitterness
• execration
• grudge
• nastiness
• gall
• jaundice
• hardness
• bile
• harshness
• rancor
• pique
• roughness
• spitefulness
• coarseness
• cattiness
• invidiousness
• hatefulness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of lenience

Trump said similar lenience would be extended to hotel and leisure industries. — Bart Jansen, USA Today, 5 July 2025

Dunn famously forgave his attacker, asking for lenience at his federal trial. — Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2025

Conservative applicants also voiced concern about liberal LGBTQ laws and lenience on crime. — Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 15 Oct. 2024

Experts say this level of lenience can lead to rebellion, risk-prone temperament, and unhealthy habits. — Zara Hanawalt, Parents, 29 Sep. 2024