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
-
Even though the official Survivor 49 pre-merge emoji might be a big fat yawn (or, perhaps a chicken screaming for mercy), there are signs that Probst did not even need to give his pre-challenge pep talk.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Nov. 2025
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Black families were at the mercy of enslavers who routinely sold and separated family members.—
Equal Justice Initiative,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Survivors say the denomination’s pattern of secrecy and leniency deepened their trauma.—
Mike Hixenbaugh,
NBC news,
30 Oct. 2025
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Trump’s leniency toward dubious white-collar figures also extends well beyond the crypto realm.—
Evan Hughes,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Santos, in the process, became the 10th former House GOP lawmaker to earn a pardon, sentence commutation, or clemency from Trump.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
31 Oct. 2025
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Ninety-two percent of Democrats, 91% of Republicans and 88% of independents telegraphed opposition to clemency.—
Brendan Rascius,
Miami Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lenity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lenity. Accessed 8 Dec. 2025.
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