Lenity and Spite

Lenity

Lenity noun - Kind, gentle, or compassionate treatment especially towards someone who is undeserving of it.
Usage example: a social critic who argues that judicial lenity is chiefly to blame for the increased criminality that plagues us

Spite is an antonym for lenity.

Spite

Spite noun - The desire to cause pain for the satisfaction of doing harm.

Lenity is an antonym for spite.

Nearby Words: spiteful, spitefully, spiting
Cite this Source
Spite and Lenity. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 14, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/lenity/spite
Lenity & Spite. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/lenity/spite>.
Spite or Lenity. 2016. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/lenity/spite.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "lenity" and "spite" have occurred on timeline