Synonyms for lenient
- adjective
Most common
All synonyms
Adjective
1. Lax — lax; not strict; tolerant of dissent or deviation
lax, clement, forbearing, soft, permissive, merciful, indulgent, forgiving, tolerant, relaxed, liberal, kind, compassionate, gentle, mild, kindly, sparing, charitable, tender, ruthful, hypertolerant, sympathetic
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Lax; not strict; tolerant of dissent or deviation.
The standard is fairly lenient, so use your discretion.
Related words
- Is a kind of
- moderate
Example sentences
- lax Better short and sweet, than long and lax.
- merciful In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
- permissive Mary's parents were very permissive.
- forbearing Be a little more forbearing!
- permissible Ziri doesn't eat pork. It's not permissible in Islam.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| lenient | steady | |
| lax | steady | |
| merciful | rising | |
| permissive | falling | |
| forbearing | rising | |
| permissible | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- lax1
- 4 letters
- kind1, easy2, soft1, mild1
- 6 letters
- gentle2, tender2, kindly2
- 7 letters
- liberal3, relaxed2, clement2, sparing2, ruthful
- 8 letters
- tolerant3, merciful3
- 9 letters
- forgiving3, indulgent3
- 10 letters
- charitable4, permissive3, forbearing
- 11 letters
- sympathetic4, permissible4
- 13 letters
- compassionate4, hypertolerant
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (easy2 = 2 syllables).