# leniency vs lenient

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### leniency
*noun · IPA /ˈliːni.ən(t)si/ · frequency rank #36,221*
The quality of mercy or forgiveness, especially in the assignment of punishment as in a court case.

### lenient
*adjective · IPA /ˈliːni.ənt/ · frequency rank #24,495*
Lax; not strict; tolerant of dissent or deviation.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/leniency-vs-lenient