Synonyms for lenient
ˈli ni ənt, ˈlin yəntle·nient

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:3.3 / 3 votes

1. lenientadjective

   Synonyms:
   permissive, lax

   Antonyms:
   severe, strict

2. lenientadjective

   lax; tolerant of deviation; permissive; not strict

   The standard is fairly lenient, so use your discretion.

   Synonyms:
   permissive, lax

   Antonyms:
   severe, strict

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. lenient

   Synonyms:
   accountable, complaisant, compliant, conditional, constitutional, contingent, docile, ductile, gentle, humble, limited, lowly, meek, mild, responsible, submissive, yielding

   Antonyms:
   absolute, arbitrary, arrogant, authoritative, autocratic, coercive, commanding, compulsive, compulsory, controlling, despotic, dictatorial, dogmatic, domineering, exacting, haughty, imperative, imperious, irresponsible, lordly, overbearing, peremptory, positive, supreme, tyrannical, unconditional, unequivocal

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. indulgent, lenient, softadjective

   tolerant or lenient

   "indulgent parents risk spoiling their children"; "too soft on the children"; "they are soft on crime"

   Synonyms:
   cushy, indulgent, mild, easy, piano, balmy, voiced, soft, delicate, flabby, subdued, diffuse, flaccid, gentle, sonant, easygoing, diffused

   Antonyms:
   inclement, demanding, unpermissive

2. lenientadjective

   not strict

   "an easy teacher"; "easy standards"; "lenient rules"; "an easy penalty"

   Synonyms:
   indulgent, soft

   Antonyms:
   demanding, unpermissive, inclement

3. lenientadjective

   characterized by tolerance and mercy

   Synonyms:
   indulgent, soft

   Antonyms:
   unpermissive, demanding, inclement

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. lenientadjective

   Synonyms:
   softening, assuasive, soothing, mitigating, mitigative, lenitive

2. lenientadjective

   Synonyms:
   mild, gentle, clement, merciful, tender, forbearing, long-suffering, not rigorous, not severe

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. lenientadjective

   Synonyms:
   compassionate, merciful

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "lenient":

   indulgent, lax, forgiving, tolerant, relaxed, mild, soft, latitudinarian, loose, liberal, benign, merciful, slight, light, low-tar

How to pronounce lenient?

How to say lenient in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use lenient in a sentence?

1. Saadi Shirazi:

   Anger that has no limit causes terror, and unseasonable kindness does away with respect. Be not so severe as to cause disgust, nor so lenient as to make people presume.

2. Frank Hayde:

   If this person, who might very well be a young person, were to come forward, we might be much more lenient, what better way to impress your date than to show that you're the type of person who will take responsibility for their actions ?

3. Josh Hawley:

   The horror of child pornography is exponentially worse than it was a decade ago, and judges handing out lenient sentences for these criminals is a big reason why, while the White House continues to dismiss concerns about leniency toward child porn offenders as a ‘desperate conspiracy theory,’ the numbers speak for themselves. Congress must act before this problem becomes even worse.

4. Leon Rodriguez:

   There's been a very remarkable increase in the number of people asking for asylum in the last five or six years or so, and ... it looks very much like people were trying to take advantage of a very lenient system and one they would not be penalized for using and that motivates illegal immigration and harms the integrity of our legal immigration system.

5. Jessica Vaughn:

   I think these are important steps because in recent years the system has been set up to favor the applicant and to put the thumb on the scale in favor of the applicant and to make it harder for an asylum officer to reject the claim, even in cases of reasonable doubt or credibility, there's been a very remarkable increase in the number of people asking for asylum in the last five or six years or so, and ... it looks very much like people were trying to take advantage of a very lenient system and one they would not be penalized for using and that motivates illegal immigration and harms the integrity of our legal immigration system.