Le″ni‐ent (lē″nĭ‐ent or lēn″yent), a. [L. leniens, -entis, p. pr. of lenire to soften, fr. lenis soft, mild. Cf. Lithe.]
1. Relaxing; emollient; softening; assuasive; — sometimes followed by of. “Lenient of grief.” Milton.
Of relax the fibers, are lenient, balsamic. Arbuthnot.
Time, that on all things lays his lenient hand. Pope.
2. Mild; clement; merciful; not rigorous or severe; as, a lenient disposition; a lenient judge or sentence.