| Lax |
| Easy |
| Soft |
| Mild |
| Clement |
| Tolerant |
| Merciful |
| Too easy |
| Easygoing |
| Indulgent |
| Not tough |
| Permissive |
| Not strict |
| Forbearing |
| Compassionate |
| Showing mercy |
| Far from stern |
| Likely to bend |
| Soft, in a way |
| Sparing the rod |
| Far from strict |
| Not at all harsh |
| Showing clemency |
| Hardly a martinet |
| Unlike a martinet |
| Not at all strict |
| Merciful, tolerant |
| Soft on punishment |
| More likely to bend |
| Inclined to look other way |
| Willing to let things slide |
| Inclined to look the other way |
| Unusually short, as a prison sentence |