as in mercy
kind, gentle, or compassionate treatment especially towards someone who is undeserving of it
a social critic who argues that judicial lenity is chiefly to blame for the increased criminality that plagues us
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Recent Examples of lenity
Twelve judges sided with Cargill and concluded that the definition of machine gun was ambiguous enough to invoke a legal principle known as the rule of lenity, which requires courts to interpret unclear criminal laws in a way that's most favorable to the defendant.
—
Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2024
The majority’s treatment of the rule of lenity also strikes a slightly sour note.
—The Insider, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021
If the rule of lenity applies here, then Butler should not be charged with a hate crime.
—Mark Joseph Stern, Slate Magazine, 25 Apr. 2017
Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2024
The majority’s treatment of the rule of lenity also strikes a slightly sour note.
—The Insider, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021
If the rule of lenity applies here, then Butler should not be charged with a hate crime.
—Mark Joseph Stern, Slate Magazine, 25 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lenity
Noun
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In other words, a school district could be at the mercy of a single extreme individual.—
Peter Greene,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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Turning the contours of Maryland’s eight congressional districts over to the whims of state legislators in Alabama, Idaho or Utah is putting the sanctity of the votes cast by hard-working Marylanders at the mercy of politicians no registered voter in Maryland has ever heard of.—
Kevin Igoe,
Baltimore Sun,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
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In a sentencing memorandum filed with the court, Minks asked for leniency, citing a difficult childhood and a history of relationships with abusive men.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
5 Aug. 2025
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While Ong, 79, could be jailed for up to seven years and fined, or be given both, for the offences, his lawyer asked the judge for leniency given the tycoon’s medical condition.—
Jonathan Burgos,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
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But sincere or not, these acts of clemency represent more than what the Democrats have offered.—
Jeremy Busby,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Aug. 2025
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Just hours after his inauguration, Trump granted clemency to all of the more than 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants, including the most violent.—
Tom Dreisbach,
NPR,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lenity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lenity. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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