From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English le‧ni‧ent /ˈliːniənt/ adjective not strict in the way you punish someone or in the standard you expect the lenient sentences handed down by some judges School examiners say that marking has become more lenient in recent years. —leniently adverb —leniency, lenience noun [uncountable] the trend towards greater leniency for most offenders Examples from the Corpus lenient • The prosecution lawyer challenged the sentence as being unduly lenient.