as in mercy
kind, gentle, or compassionate treatment especially towards someone who is undeserving of it
a social critic who argues that judicial lenity is chiefly to blame for the increased criminality that plagues us
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Recent Examples of lenity
Twelve judges sided with Cargill and concluded that the definition of machine gun was ambiguous enough to invoke a legal principle known as the rule of lenity, which requires courts to interpret unclear criminal laws in a way that's most favorable to the defendant.
—
Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2024
The majority’s treatment of the rule of lenity also strikes a slightly sour note.
—The Insider, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021
If the rule of lenity applies here, then Butler should not be charged with a hate crime.
—Mark Joseph Stern, Slate Magazine, 25 Apr. 2017
Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2024
The majority’s treatment of the rule of lenity also strikes a slightly sour note.
—The Insider, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021
If the rule of lenity applies here, then Butler should not be charged with a hate crime.
—Mark Joseph Stern, Slate Magazine, 25 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lenity
Noun
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Nestor is a man trying to maintain his dignity while at the mercy of everyone around him, his frustrations rising to the surface at the slightest provocation from his back-talking kids or his younger brother (Valentin Mexico), a hotshot with a Trans Am.—
Sheri Linden,
The Hollywood Reporter,
17 Feb. 2025
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Right Reverend Mariann Budde recently went viral for asking President Donald Trump to show mercy to LGBTQ+ and migrant communities.—
Jason Parham,
WIRED,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Scott-Dix asked for leniency, saying Porter had no criminal history and struggled with mental illness.—
Meredith Colias-Pete,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Feb. 2025
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His attorney, Jonathan Mills, urged the judge for leniency, WOFL reported.—
Olivia Lloyd,
Miami Herald,
10 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The case brought by Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James was filed after Trump pardoned Bannon of similar federal charges in a last-minute clemency blitz before last leaving office.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
11 Feb. 2025
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The expected pardon, coming in Trump's fourth week back in office, follows his sweeping clemency for more than 1,500 people charged in the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
10 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near lenity
Cite this Entry
“Lenity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lenity. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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