摘要：“Clemency”源自拉丁语“clementia”，意为“仁慈、宽厚”，由“clemens”（温和）衍生。15世纪进入英语，指宽大处理或仁慈，常用于法律或道德语境。

clemency

[CLEMENCY]

英 ['klemənsi] 美 ['klemənsi]

n.仁慈；宽厚，宽容，忍让；(气候)温和，温暖，和善；仁慈的举动，宽厚的举动

◉词源

“Clemency”源自拉丁语“clementia”，意为“仁慈、宽厚”，由“clemens”（温和）衍生。15世纪进入英语，指宽大处理或仁慈，常用于法律或道德语境。

◉外刊例句

·《The Economist 》(2024年11)

The judge showed clemency to the accused.

法官对被告表现出宽大。

·《The Atlantic 》 (2025年7)

Clemency was granted to the prisoner.

囚犯获得了赦免。

◉经典名著

·《哈姆雷特》（Hamlet） - 威廉·莎士比亚

Claudius offered no clemency to foes.

克劳狄斯对敌人毫无宽容。

·《简·爱》（Jane Eyre） - 夏洛蒂·勃朗特

Jane pleaded for clemency for all.

简为所有人请求宽大。

◉ Usage Examples

(1) He appealed to the judge for clemency.

(2) They addressed to the governor a plea for clemency.

(1) 他乞求法官开恩。

(2) 他们向州长提出了宽刑的申辩书。

◉ Usage Notes

Say you're playing a role-playing game and you end up in one of the other player's dungeons. You could try begging him for clemency — compassion shown by people in power towards people who rebel or break the law.

Clemency is also a weather word, though nowadays it's much more common to hear people talk about "inclement weather" than, say, "the clemency of the storm." Derived from the Latin for "gentle", it came into usage in the 1550s. If you have trouble remembering its meaning, get rid of the "cle" and replace the "n" with an "r". You're left with "mercy", which more or less means the same thing.

◉柯林斯词典

1. [N-UNCOUNT 不可数名词]宽大；轻判；宽恕 If someone is granted clemency, they are punished less severely than they could be. [FORMAL 正式]

Seventeen prisoners held on death row are to be executed after their pleas for clemency were turned down.

17名死刑犯申请宽大处理遭到驳回后即将被处决

来源：学无用的英语