Lenis

//ˈliːnɪs// adj, name, noun

adj, name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A lenis consonant.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Weakly articulated, hence voiced; especially as compared to the others of a group of homorganic consonants. not-comparable

    "All vowels, whether short or complex, are relatively shorter when followed by a fortis consonant and relatively longer when followed by a lenis one or, for those where this is possible, when no consonant follows (in free or unchecked syllables)."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
lax

Antonyms

All antonyms
fortis

Example

More examples

"All vowels, whether short or complex, are relatively shorter when followed by a fortis consonant and relatively longer when followed by a lenis one or, for those where this is possible, when no consonant follows (in free or unchecked syllables)."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin lēnis (“soft, smooth”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.