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

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How to use lenient in a sentence?

1. Catherine Salmon:

   Parents are more lenient, so youngest kids tend to be less rules-oriented, and yet they still get lots of attention.

2. Eva Millona:

   It really caused huge anxiety, families were torn apart, children were left in the custody of the state, there’s a bitter taste still in Massachusetts. Some advocates for more lenient immigration policies lauded Michelle DuBois.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Sheldon Whitehouse:

   If you look at her record as a federal judge in criminal cases and particularly cases concerning child pornography over and over and over again, she gives incredibly lenient sentences.