clemency
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clemency
- /ˈklɛ.mən.si/ UK
- /ˈklɛ.mən(t).si/ US
Where it comes from
From Middle English clemency, clemencie, from Latin clēmentia.
Gradually eclipsed Middle English clemence, from Old French clemence, from the same Latin origin.
noun clemencies
- The gentle or kind exercise of power; leniency, mercy; compassion in judging or punishing. For vs, and for our Tragedie, / Heere stooping to your Clemencie: / We begge your hearing Patientlie.
- A pardon, commutation, or similar reduction, removal, or postponement of legal penalties by an executive officer of a state. Judicial intervention might, for example, be warranted in the face of a scheme whereby a state official flipped a coin to determine whether to grant clemency, or in a case where the State arbitrarily denied a prisoner any access to its clemency process.
- Mildness of weather. Now of all theſe Things there is ſuch a conſtant Continuance, by reaſon of the Clemency of the Climate, that ſcarce the leaſt Famine, which frequenteth other Countries, hath been felt in England theſe 400 Years.
Opposite: cruelty
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: mercy, mercifulness, mildness, lenity, leniency, merciful, compassion, forgiveness, pardon, grace, indulgence, remission, clemence, reprieve, amnesty, through
noun
Opposite: cruelty
Translations
Every language
noun moderation of the severity of a punishment
| Español | clemencia |
|---|---|
| Français | clémence |
| Deutsch | Milde, Mildheit |
| Русский | поми́лование pomílovanije |
noun leniency, mercy
| Español | clemencia |
|---|---|
| Português | clemência |
| Français | clémence |
| Deutsch | Milde, Barmherzigkeit, Güte, Gütigkeit |
| Italiano | clemenza |
| Română | clemență, îndurare, bunătate |
| Русский | милосе́рдие milosérdije, снисходи́тельность snisxodítelʹnostʹ, поми́лование pomílovanije, поща́да poščáda |
noun forgiveness or compassion
| Français | compassion, pitié, miséricorde, commisération |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Nachsicht, Milde, Erbarmen |
| Русский | милосе́рдие milosérdije, снисходи́тельность snisxodítelʹnostʹ |
noun legal: pardon, commutation or similar reduction, removal, or postponement of legal penalties
| Deutsch | Gnade, Begnadigung |
|---|
Talk about this word "clemency." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/clemency. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. clemency. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/clemency "clemency." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/clemency.Cite this
@misc{clemency_2026,
title = {clemency},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/clemency},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
