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. Henry Ward Beecher:

   Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself - and be lenient to everybody else.

2. 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.

3. Former England skipper Vaughan:

   The problem for The ECB chief executive Richard Gould, and director of cricket Rob Key, is the poor handling of the Harry Brook situation has set a precedent, they allowed Richard Gould to carry on as captain, hushed it up and by being so lenient put themselves in a position where they had to come down hard on any other minor transgression of the team rules in the future.

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. 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.