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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This, in effect, frames even the movie’s unrelated, apolitical happenings as being at the mercy of this dangerous future, backed by Western powers.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
24 May 2025
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Allowing the Chinese government to circumvent free trade guardrails will ultimately put the U.S. at the mercy of an international supply chain.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 May 2025
Noun
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Defense attorneys have asked the court for leniency, citing the defendants’ age and health.—
Thomas Adamson,
Chicago Tribune,
23 May 2025
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Mary Kay Letourneau is sentenced to prison At her sentencing, Letourneau pleaded for leniency.—
Nicole Pomarico,
People.com,
20 May 2025
Noun
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Trump and his deputies have signaled that the Justice Department’s focus on violent extremism is over, starting with the president’s clemency order for militants charged in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
31 May 2025
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Amid calls for tough punishments, clemency for high-level drug traffickers Trump's clemency for Hoover and other drug offenders follows a pattern that began during his first term in the White House.—
Brian Mann,
NPR,
31 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lenity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lenity. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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