Le"ni*ent, n. (Med.) A
lenitive; an emollient.
Le"ni*ent (lē"nĭ*ent or
lēn"yent), a. [L. leniens, -
entis, p. pr. of lenire to soften, fr. lenis soft,
mild. Cf. Lithe.]
1. Relaxing; emollient; softening; assuasive;
-- sometimes followed by of. "Lenient of grief."
Milton.
Of relax the fibers, are lenient,
balsamic.
Arbuthnot.
Time, that on all things lays his lenient
hand.
Pope.
2. Mild; clement; merciful; not rigorous or
severe; as, a lenient disposition; a lenient judge or
sentence.