clemency
39
8.4
- noun
- /ˈklɛmənsi/
- Formal
:
clemencia
- By the power vested in me by King Frederick... I hereby grant clemency to all prisoners.
- grant clemency
- a plea for clemency
- an appeal for clemency
She said the protections for someone in the clemency process are minimal.
- She said the protections for someone in the clemency process are minimal.
- Now she runs the nonprofit Can Do Foundation, which seeks clemency for all nonviolent drug offenders.
- Even beyond that, the jury wrote the judge a note and said to the judge, please use the utmost clemency.
- And so, you know, we should show clemency, we should show mercy, we should show forgiveness to people.
- So clemency means that there might be a reason to, because maybe in that particular situation, it's not the case to be that strict.
- So I think that he thought that clemency could actually work.
- Remember, Polly, snitches get stitches, but a friend O me gets clemency.
Examples
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Your Grace, I implore you to spare their lives, to exercise clemency, Your Grace.
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Carrying a petition for clemency, Elizabeth Stroud doggedly haunted the offices of Washington officials, in an effort to gain an audience with the president of the United States.
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And this was going to grant clemency to all of them, which I think anyone should get behind.
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The council has offered you clemency and granted us both safe haven.
-
And so, you know, we should show clemency, we should show mercy, we should show forgiveness to people.
-
But a unanimous decision was required to send a recommendation of clemency to the governor.
Blog text (24) -
In exchange for ending the sickness, it was agreed that the witches would be granted clemency for their sins.
-
There's a Passover tradition that a governor offers a prisoner clemency.
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While in prison, Anthony Papa became an award-winning artist and received clemency in 1996 from Governor George Pataki.
Academic text (2005) -
The judge decided to show clemency and reduced the defendant's sentence after hearing his compelling story.
Synonyms
609
1.3
Kindness shown to someone who is suffering or could be punished
Being kind and not strict when judging or punishing someone
Antonyms
720
1.3
An action that makes someone suffer for breaking a rule, like a fine or time in prison
Compounds
- Formal
1
7.9
Power that allows a president or governor to change a prison sentence
How Merciful
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Clemency comes from the Latin word clementia, from clemens, which means 'mild'. So clemency is showing 'mercy' or being 'lenient', especially when a judge or leader chooses to be mild instead of strict.