Meaning 1
A pleasure allowed beyond what is necessary or routine.
Reach for it when naming a deliberate treat without presenting excess as a need
A quiet hour in the reading room became her weekly indulgence.
Meaning 2
Patient willingness to forgive or tolerate another person's weakness.
Reach for it when asking for leniency in a formal or gently self-aware way
The new speaker asked the audience's indulgence while he adjusted the old projector.
| Meaning 1 | Meaning 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| everyday | ||
| warm |
| |
| professional | ||
| formal |
| |
| literary |
everyday
Fits when a small enjoyable exception should sound light
Careful Treat is warmer and less reflective about excess or self-restraint.
warm
Fits when enjoyment itself matters without moral judgment
Careful Pleasure names enjoyment but omits the deliberate permission or rarity of an indulgence.
formal
Fits when comfort or quality beyond necessity is the point
Careful Luxury often implies high cost, while an indulgence can be simple and free.
everyday
Fits when difference or inconvenience is accepted
Careful Tolerance can sound grudging and lacks indulgence's forgiving softness.
professional
Fits when a rule or consequence is applied less strictly
Careful Leniency concerns enforcement and can imply unequal treatment.
literary
Fits when patient restraint prevents irritation from becoming punishment
Careful Forbearance is weightier and suggests real provocation.
small indulgence
Fresh flowers were a small indulgence that changed the whole desk.
occasional indulgence
An occasional indulgence need not become a daily expectation.
ask your indulgence
I ask your indulgence while the captions are reloaded.
rare indulgence
A front-row concert ticket was a rare indulgence after the long project.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Neskaya, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated
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