Noun

(archaic)  Christian love; representing God's love of man, man's love of God, or man's love of his fellow-men.

In general, an attitude of kindness and understanding towards others, now especially suggesting generosity.

Judge thyself with the judgment of sincerity, and thou will judge others with the judgment of charity . — John Mitchell Mason

(uncountable)  Benevolence to others less fortunate than ourselves; the providing of goods or money to those in need.

* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)

, chapter=6 citation , passage=‘[…] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”. […]’.}}

(countable)  The goods or money given to those in need.

(countable)  An organization, the objective of which is to carry out a charitable purpose.

Noun

The quality of mercy or forgiveness, especially in the assignment of punishment as in a court case.

The convicted felon asked for leniency , but because the crime was so heinous the judge refused and gave the maximum sentence.

An act of being lenient.