Word of the Day:

November 3, 2021

lenient

adjective LEEN-yunt

What it Means

Lenient means "not harsh, severe, or strict."

// The teacher was lenient in her grading after the holiday break.

Lenient in Context

"When it comes to growing up, we're all split into two camps: those with lenient parents and those with strict parents." — Nicky Idika, PopBuzz, 8 May 2017

More example sentences

Did You Know?

Lenient comes from lenis, the Latin word for "soft" or "mild." It was originally applied to something soothing that relieved pain or stress; the related lenitive has the same meaning. Linguists also borrowed lenis to describe speech sounds that are softened—for instance, the "t" sound in gutter.

Quiz

Fill in the blanks to complete a synonym of leniency: c _ e _ _ _ c _.

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