leniency
/ˈliːniənsi/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈliːniənsi/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈlē-nē-ən(t)-sē -nyən(t)-sē/ (ame, mw)
leniency — 名詞
1. the practice of treating someone less harshly than usual when they have broken a
寬容；寬大
比預期更溫和的對待或處罰
the practice of treating someone less harshly than usual when they have broken a rule or done something wrong — for example, a judge giving a lighter prison sentence than the law normally requires, or a parent deciding not to ground a child who came home late.
Judge Okonkwo showed leniency toward the young man by giving him community service instead of a prison sentence.
法官 Okonkwo 對這名年輕男子展現寬大，判他從事社區服務而非入獄服刑。
collocation: show leniency toward someone; legal context
The school board decided to show leniency and let the students retake the failed exam.
學校董事會決定寬容處理，讓學生重新補考未通過的科目。
collocation: show leniency
Tomas accidentally spilled paint on the library carpet, and the school librarian showed leniency after he helped clean it up.
Tomas 不小心把顏料灑在圖書館的地毯上，圖書館員見他幫忙清理後便寬容處理，沒有追究。
The apartment manager granted leniency on the late rent because the tenant had lost her job.
公寓管理員因房客失業而寬限了遲繳的租金。
- clemency
more formal and narrower — used almost exclusively in legal contexts, especially for reducing a criminal sentence or a governor's pardon
- mercy
emphasises compassion or forgiveness, often with a moral or religious tone; broader than leniency
- forbearance
formal; stresses patient self-restraint rather than reducing a penalty
- severity
the opposite of leniency; harshness or strictness in punishment
- strictness
rigid enforcement of rules without bending
文法句型
show leniency (toward/to someone)
grant leniency (to someone)
ask for / plead for / beg for leniency
leniency in [noun/-ing form]
用法筆記
The adjective form lenient is far more common in everyday speech ('My teacher was lenient about the deadline'). Leniency itself tends to appear in more formal or written contexts, especially legal or institutional settings.