What does lenient mean?
Word: Lenient
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Lenient means ready to go easy on someone and let small mistakes pass.
Synonyms: tolerant, easy-going
Antonyms: harsh
How do you spell lenient?
Syllables: le - ni - ent
Tricky part: The ending is ient, with an i before the e. Children often write lenent or leniant.
Watch out for: lenent, leniant
Memory tip: Lenient and patient share the same ending, and a lenient teacher is usually a patient one too.
Lenient in a sentence
Example 1: The referee was lenient and gave the young players a friendly warning instead of a card.
Example 2: Our librarian is lenient if a book comes back a day late.
Example 3: Mum was lenient about screen time on my birthday.
Fun Fact
The word comes from a Latin verb meaning 'to soften', which is just what a lenient person does to a rule.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word: lenient
a) gentle
b) strict
c) kindly
d) calm
Show answer
b) strict. A lenient person lets things go, while a strict one insists that every rule is kept.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
leenient
a) e
b) t
c) i
d) n
Show answer
a) e. Only one e comes after the l at the start.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
itenlne
a) intense
b) tinsel
c) lentils
d) lenient
Show answer
d) lenient. Intense, lentils and tinsel all need an s, and there is no s in these seven letters.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) forgiveing
b) disipline
c) lenient
d) tollerant
Show answer
c) lenient. Forgiving drops the e of forgive, discipline has sc, and tolerant has only one l.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Mr Das is a lenient teacher. What will he probably do if homework is a day late?
a) refuse to mark it at all
b) accept it with a gentle reminder
c) make the pupil redo it twice
d) send a note to the head teacher
Show answer
b) accept it with a gentle reminder
2. Grandma is lenient about bedtime in the holidays. Which of these is likely?
a) The children must sleep in the afternoon.
b) The children stay up a little later.
c) The children get no stories at night.
d) The children go to bed much earlier.
Show answer
b) The children stay up a little later.
