adjective
Etymology: Middle English forbering, from present participle of forberen to forbear — more at forbear
: marked by calm patience especially under provocation : slow to expression of resentment or acts of punishment or retaliation : patient
Synonyms:
tolerant , clement , lenient , merciful , indulgent : forbearing implies a calm unruffled abstention, especially under provocation, from judging harshly or taking due action against something or somebody
where life shall be seemly and noble and forbearing … yet strong enough withal to resist aggression — Learned Hand
tolerant emphasizes the acceptance, often negative but usually generous, of what one would be or might be expected to object to or oppose
it will make us tolerant and forgiving, patient with stubbornness and prejudice — A.C.Benson
clement emphasizes a humaneness in the exercise of a power to judge or punish
he was clement whenever he could be clement with safety, and he began to pardon the proscribed — John Buchan
lenient emphasizes the mildness of the judgment or punishment
she looked on his foibles with a lenient eye, for she had been accustomed to such all her life — Anthony Trollope
merciful emphasizes the idea of compassionate treatment, especially with the implication of forgiveness
many have had the impression that he is not very merciful or sympathetic to sinners or enemies of the law — M.R.Cohen
indulgent suggests strongly a laxness, an easygoingness, as from an absence of a precise standard, and often implies a weakness in the exercise of the power to judge, restrain, or punish
a main criticism is that juries are now rigorous, now indulgent, prone to severity in cases involving attacks on property, but to leniency in cases of assault …; too often swayed by local prejudices or political feeling; too susceptible to the oratory of clever criminal lawyers — F.A.Ogg & Harold Zink